Tobacco smoking is well known to be a major risk factor for various cancers, lung and cardiovascular problems, and is also linked to other health problems, such as complications in pregnancy, low sperm count in men, oral problems, and increased likelihood of cataracts.
Statistics reveal that smoking causes more deaths each year than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol misuse, motor vehicle injuries and homicides combined.
While there are many who are unaware of the toll smoking takes on the body, the effects of long-term tobacco smoking on other areas such as learning and memory are less well known.
While some studies have shown that nicotine in cigarettes can improve concentration and attention, there’s more to cigarettes than just nicotine. They contain over 4,000 chemicals—over 50 of which are known to be toxic in nature.
It’s thought that a long-term build-up of these toxic chemicals can damage the brain, leading to deficits in learning and memory. Long-term smoking has been linked with reductions in working memory and prospective memory.
Quitting smoking improves health and leads to improvements in cognition. Traditional methods of quitting smoking have focused on nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), such as nicotine chewing gum, patches, inhalators and nasal sprays. This typically takes around eight to 12 weeks before producing demonstrable health improvements.
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