Risks: Smokers Found More Prone to Dementia

This news story caught my eye. I am definitely an advocate for non-smoking. A study was conducted in the mid-1970's - 1980's recording the patients habits, such as smoking. The participants were from age 50-60. Twenty-three years later they were analyzed again. They found that one quarter of the participants had some form of dementia. Some had Alzheimer's Disease or vascular dementia. Researchers concluded that smoking one pack a day increased one's risk for dementia by 37% than those who did not smoke. Those who smoked two packs a day had a 44% higher risk than non-smokers, and those who smoked more than two packs a day had over double the risk for acquiring the onset of dementia. This evidence should be enough to make people want to quit. Even though some people say they are aware of their health risks, many only think about the cardiovascular and respiratory factors. Most say that they can deal with the physiologic factors that come into play because they simply do not care. As people age, the biggest worry that plagues people is losing their memory. Many people do not want to lose any mental function and want to be able to live on their own. Independence is a huge concern for the elderly population. If more people knew that smoking can increase their risks for dementia, therefore decreasing their length of independence, I believe that more people would take quitting more seriously. The problem with many smokers is that they are very stubborn. Even though there is so much evidence on negative health benefits, most smokers do not care. I hope that more people would take this seriously and then every one's quality of life can be improved.