A OPTICIAN is warning smokers to watch out for serious damage to their eyes if they continue their nicotine habit.

Specsavers Opticians, in Bury's Mill Gate Centre, is marking national No Smoking Day on Wednesday by highlighting the sight-related risks smokers are exposing themselves to.

Dale Coxon, store director, said: "Nicotine slowly poisons the optic nerve which means a side effect is impaired colour vision. The damaging effects of smoking on the lungs are widely known but there is little awareness about the harmful effects it can have on eyes."

Smokers are also at higher risk of age-related macular degeneration, the most sensitive part of the retina at the back of the eye, glaucoma and cataracts.