Researchers found that smoking increases the risk of dementia

Everyone knows that smoking harms the lungs and heart. But a study by scientists from the University of Wisconsin (USA) confirmed that cigarettes also cause severe damage to the brain.

Experts analyzed 37 different studies related to smoking and found that current smokers are 30% more likely to become “happy” with dementia and 40% more likely to have Alzheimer’s. And the more a person smokes, the higher the risk becomes: for every 20 cigarettes a day, developing dementia increases by 34%. In addition, smoking increases the likelihood of stroke.

However, quitting smoking helps reduce the risks of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The high chances of these diseases in smokers decrease over time as they quit cigarettes. Eventually, after about nine years, ex-smokers will reach the point where their risk of developing Alzheimer’s is no higher than that of those who have never smoked.

Quitting smoking at any age can help. But the sooner you quit this habit, the better. Quitting smoking in middle age is much better than stopping later.- said Jennifer Deal, Assistant Professor School of Public Health of the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University

Secondhand smoke increases the risk of developing oral cancer. A study by researchers from Portugal, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States showed that people exposed to secondhand smoke had a 51% higher risk of developing oral cancer. And if this exposure lasts more than 10 or 15 years, then the risk increases even more.