Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs

Smoking: Evidence is conflicting, but leans toward smoking potentially causing acne and/or making it worse. For your overall health, and to do everything you can to reduce acne, don't smoke. E-cigarettes/Vaping: There is some initial evidence that e-cigarettes may increase inflammation. Acne is an inflammatory disease, so it might be best to avoid vaping as well.

Alcohol: We do not have enough evidence either way on this one. However, alcohol impairs motor skills, and physical irritation of the skin lead to more acne, so if you do drink, try to stay aware of anything you're doing that is physically irritating acne-prone areas of your skin.

Drugs: The only evidence we have is on marijuana. It is preliminary and weak evidence, but it shows that people who regularly use marijuana tend to have more acne. On the other hand, a component of marijuana, CBD, may show promise in reducing inflammation. In short, the jury is still out when it comes to marijuana. Regarding other drugs, common sense tells us that any drug that increases stress levels could also negatively affect acne since stress can make acne worse.