Cigarette Smoking Speeds Up Hair Loss in Men

Here's another reason to stop smoking: a new study says that it accelerates hair loss in men.

The reasoning that smoking "may destroy hair follicles, interfere with the way blood and hormones are circulated in the scalp or increase the production of estrogen," according to researchers with the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and National Taiwan University in Taipei.

The study examined 740 men in Taiwan with an average age of 65, and found that cigarette use played an important role "in the development of moderate or severe" hair loss, the authors of the study said, when the men smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day.

The research was published in the November issue of the Archives of Dermatology. It recommended that men who show early signs of hair loss should be told about the role smoking can play in hair loss, to help them prevent further loss.