Smokers who develop optic neuritis are far more likely than nonsmokers to develop an additional problem -- not being able to see colors properly. Scientists think that this occurs because less oxygen reaches the eye in smokers as compared to nonsmokers.
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In order for you to see, messages have to travel from your eye to your brain along a nerve called the optic nerve. The optic nerve is like a cable of electrical wires; it consists of more than a million separate tiny nerve fibers, each of which carries part of the message. In order for you to have good vision, most of these fibers must be working properly.
In the disease optic neuritis, some of the tiny fibers in the optic nerve become inflamed. If enough fibers are affected, pain, blurred vision, or a blind spot may result.
