The RNIB will embark on an eight-stop college tour to educate students about how lifestyle choices can affect their vision later in life.

The UK Future for Vision roadshows, which start at Birmingham Metropolitan College this week, will also highlight the link between smoking and sight loss.

A virtual ageing photo booth will give teenagers an insight into how they’ll look at 70 if they continue with their current lifestyle choices. 

After entering a booth they will receive a ‘before’ and ‘after’ shoot of themselves, along with information on avoiding the risk factors which are linked to eye disease.

Steve Winyard, head of policy and campaigns at the RNIB, said: “Our focus is on younger people because we want to show them, in a very tangible way, how their lifestyle choices may affect their risk of developing eye disease later in life. The RNIB’s Future for Vision tour shows our commitment to making avoidable sight loss a thing of the past.”

A recent survey by the charity reported that 73% of smokers aged 18 to 24 in the UK would consider stopping smoking permanently or reduce the amount they smoke to avoid blindness in later life.

Mr Winyard added: “Ultimately it’s up to all of us to take the necessary steps to maximise our chances of keeping our eyes healthy into old age. 50% of all sight loss if tackled early enough is avoidable. If younger people are prepared to take their own eye health seriously, they stand a far better chance of not adding to the 1.8m people who currently live with sight loss in the UK.”

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