Smoking and Breast Sagging

A couple of years ago a plastic surgeon and his colleagues did a study in which they interviewed 132 women who had requested breast lift surgery or breast augmentation. The goal of the interviews was to try to determine whether there was any truth to the commonly held belief that breast-feeding causes breast sagging later in life.

The results showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (sagging) between women who had breastfed and those who had not. However, factors that did correlate with breast sagging included the woman’s age, how many pregnancies she had had, and whether she had smoked.

Yes, you read that right - smoking. It is well known that smoking damages elastin, the protein fibers in skin responsible for skin’s youthful appearance and elasticity. That’s why chronic smokers are much more likely to have wrinkled skin than non-smokers. It would not be much of a stretch (no pun intended) to hypothesize that healthy elastin supports breast tissue and helps maintain breast shape.

One more reason not to smoke?

Reference: Rinker, Brian et al. The effect of breastfeeding on breast aesthetics. Aesthet. Surg. J. 28:534-537, 2008.