Smoking on the brain

I am a smoker.  There, I said it, and I’m damn glad I said it.  In truth, however, I’m not so glad that I am a smoker.  It’s been about 25 years or more since I started this habit and the older this body gets the more I begin to notice every stupid little thing that goes wrong with it. 

As a person who has to rely on their mind for a weekly paycheck, I thought I’d give a look at the science of it all and see exactly how much my brain is suffering due to the one major bad habit that I've held onto throughout my life.

First I’d like to mention, offhand, that finding information on how smoking affects you can be complicated when using the Internet as your primary resource.  Most of what your typical search engine returns is going to be a list of sites trying to sell you something that supposedly helps you quit. 

Since these sites are quite obviously biased in their intent, the information you get from them can be somewhat of a mess.  Such fun facts as “Smoking will make you die!” are not uncommon.  But that aside, I did manage to find a few sites that reference actual studies by actual science people.

One study talks about how smoking slows down the speed and accuracy of your thought processes, despite what many people claim about smoking making them feel sharper or more alert.  It also shows a link between smoking and memory capability.  Smoking is apparently one of the big killers when it comes to overall brain health. 

Those who smoke show accelerated degradation of the brain, which can lead to more serious problems like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.  This study makes the claim that smoking is the top contender worldwide for external contributors to cognitive problems in the brain over time.  Doesn't sound too great, does it?

Another study details some of the reasons why this is the case.  Tobacco apparently causes fights between your white blood cells and healthy cells, which can lead to neuroinflammation and neurological damage.  Since the chemicals involved are in tobacco in general and not just a danger for those who smoke, all users of tobacco run this risk.  Looks even less great at this point.

And though quitting may make you feel like your brain isn’t working at all, the opposite is actually true.  At least biologically, the brain begins functioning better within a short time after quitting.  The more I read about this, the more I realize how much productivity is being wasted simply because I can’t let go of this old habit.  If you’re a person who needs their brain sharp for their job, I’d suggest that you too consider jumping on the quitting train.  Me, I’m biting my nails right now in anticipation of what is looking to be a complicated coming week.

Cigarette photo courtesy of Challiyil Eswaramangalath Vipin via Wikicommons