Protecting Your Brain by Quitting Cigarettes
Quitting smoking is beneficial not only for lungs but also for protecting memory and slowing cognitive decline, even later in life.
A study by University College London (UCL) researchers, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, analyzed data from 9,436 people aged 40 and over across 12 countries.
- The study compared cognitive test results between those who quit smoking and those who continued to smoke.
- People who quit smoking experienced much slower cognitive decline than those who kept smoking.
- Their verbal fluency declined at roughly half the rate of smokers.
- Their memory declined about 20 per cent more slowly.
Quitting smoking could help protect your memory and slow cognitive decline, even later in life.
Author's summary: Quitting smoking helps protect brain health.