Submitted by Dr David Allen on Wed, 20/04/2011 - 03:32.
It is no surprise that an Australian study has found that smoking accelerates mental decline and damages parts of the brain linked to dementia. However, a recent article posted in the Sydney Morning Herald reports the good news that quitting reverses these effects.
The study assessed mental performance over a two year period in 229 elderly smokers who were trying to quit and 98 non-smokers. The results were matched with brain scan results. The findings were that smokers who failed to quit fell into mental decline twice as fast as non-smokers but those who quit did not decline faster than those who never smoked.
This study suggests that it’s never too late to quit as stopping smoking will have a positive effect on your brain even into your 70s. If the mental health risk factor from smoking and the benefits of quitting was understood then quitting may have an impact on reducing the burden of dementia in Australia.
The good measures team has been providing quit smoking programs to employers with great success. Contact us to learn more.
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