Scratches on the camera lens

[LumiaWorld]

It has been a long time since I discovered that there are scratches on my 520's camera lens and from there, I've been wondering... Does having scratches on the camera lens affect the quality of the images being produced by the camera?

BTW, sorry for my English.

 

[Guytronic]

Been my experience scratches won't be seen most of the time.
Scratches might have an effect if right in the center and light coming thru is deflected by scratching.
Usually a cameras focal point doesn't see much of the outer lens area.