Photo via Science Daily
The dangers of smoking are almost too numerous to list anymore.
But apparently you can add late-onset stupidity to the tally.
A new British study suggests wheezy, rusty-toothed smokers over the age of 50 tend to exhibit a faster-than-normal decline in cognitive abilities.
This is kind of a no-brainer (pun intended but somewhat regretted). Smoking deteriorates the body, and the brain is part of the body. Badda-bing: smoking affects the brain. Note: the scientists behind the study didn’t summarize their conclusions with the term “badda-bing,” but perhaps they should have.
There’s also some evidence, incidentally, that smokers on average aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer to begin with. And another study showed a typical male smoker’s brain functions with roughly the same acuity as that of a non-smoker 10 years his senior.
To summarize, the bad news: smoking can accelerate the inevitable decline in brain function associated with getting older.
The (sort of) good news: smoking drastically decreases your chances of getting older.
