Does
Smoking Cause Memory Loss?
The short answer is yes, smoking
can contribute to memory loss. Dr. Marcus Richards at University
College in London studied the effects of smoking on over 5,000 people
and concluded that smokers were much less likely to retain information.
Study participants were given 15 words for two seconds each and
were asked to write down as many as they remembered; the results
showed that smokers in their 40s and 50s had significantly lower
scores than non-smokers. Additionally, those who smoked more scored
even lower. The study essentially showed that the more you smoke
the more your memory is negatively affected.
Exactly how smoking effects memory exactly isn’t understood
by doctors or researchers yet; however, there are some theories:
- Impaired memory is a symptom of smoking-related
disease such as cancer, heart disease, emphysema, or asthma.
- High blood pressure can actually damage
the brain, and smoking is a leading cause of high blood pressure.
- Toxic chemicals in cigarettes may impair
brain function.
Though little is known yet about exactly
how smoking affects memory function, studies have shown that there
is a difference between the memory of those that smoke versus those
that don’t. Smoking poses a significant health risk that can
lead to cancer, heart disease and other considerable health problems.
Contact your physician to try to find out ways to quit. If you feel
that your memory loss is significant you should talk to your healthcare
provider about your symptoms so that he or she can determine if
there is another contributing factor to your memory loss.
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