A recent study has suggested it is possible to identify a smoker through his skin texture.

Researchers from the Department of Plastic Surgery at Case Western University in Ohio made this conclusion after four years of observing 79 set of twins ages 18 to 78.

The sets were divided into two - one where only one of the twins was a smoker and the other where one of them had been smoking for at least 5 years longer than the other.

Plastic surgeons observed the twins' photographs, focusing on their facial features and ranking those age-related features in a four-point scale, all without knowing the twins prior to the study.

With this, the panel of plastic surgeons was able to spot the smoking twin in the first set in 57 percent of the cases, while in 63 percent of the cases in the second set they were able to identify the twin who smoked longer.

In the second set, the twin who smoked longer than the other had greater scores of sagging cheeks and eye bags.

According to Dr. Bahman Guyuron, head of the research team, the statistics confirmed what has been proven about the effects of smoking to the skin.

"With longer follow-up, we believe that every smoking twin might have exhibited a difference in aging," Dr. Guyoron said.

It has long been established that the smoking has adverse effects to the skin. Mayo Clinic stressed it is possible to see these effects only after 10 years of smoking as it constricts the vessels that circulate blood to the skin.

A related study from the University of Michigan revealed that aging due to smoking is not only limited to the face. It may also manifest below the neck and even at the upper arms.