Quitting smokes can halt brain damage
Research from scientists at the University of Western Australia shows that old people who smoke are at increased risk of developing dementia.
But while memory loss might accelerate with every puff, it’s not all bad news for died in the wool smokers.
ABC current affairs program, AM, reported on 10 February that the scientists have found that it’s never too late to quit the habit and reap some benefits-quitting can halt the damage to the brain and even reverse it.
Nicola Lautenschlager, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, and one of the study’s authors said that people who smoked in their life had a smaller volume of their brain in certain crucial areas which are very important for their memory, for example, the temporal lobe, compared to people who never smoked.
“When the smoker stopped or the group who was able to do so, their brain was able to benefit even at that old age from stopping the harmful behaviour and looked then much better than compared to the peers who didn’t stop,” she said on AM.
“Next to all the other benefits we know which come along with stopping smoking in terms of protecting your heart and reducing your risk of cancer, this study shows now there is another additional reason to consider stopping smoking at any age, which is protecting your brain.
“Since Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in general is one of the main medical problems when you get older, this is an effective way of reducing your risk – by stopping smoking.”
