Purpose: To evaluate the effects of smoking on colour vision with the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue test.

Materials and Methods: The Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue test (FHMT) was performed to evaluate colour vision in chronic smokers. This study included 80 subjects between 20 and 40 years of age who were routinely examined in our ophthalmology clinic and who agreed to participate in our study. All the subjects had a best corrected visual acuity of 10/10 with the Snellen visual acuity chart. The subjects were divided into two groups: group 1 included 50 smokers and group 2 included 30 nonsmokers. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmological examination including refraction with best-corrected visual acuity, tonometry, slit lamp biomicroscopy, dilated fundoscopy, and FMHT.

Results: The FMHT score was 80±53.7 in group 1 versus 59.8±30.2 in group 2. The FMHT score in group 1 was significantly higher than that in group 2 (p<0.05). The mean number of cigarettes smoked per day was 14±8.7 and the mean duration of smoking was 8.6±5.3 years in group 1. A significant positive correlation was found between the FMHT score and the total number of cigarettes smoked per day (r=0.309, p<0.05); however, no significant correlation was observed between FMHT score and the duration of smoking (r=0.076, p>0.5).

Conclusion: Total FMHT scores in smokers were significantly higher than those in nonsmokers and this score was positively correlated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day.