You may be surprised that even today, people are still continuously debating whether or not smoking has a significant impact on your health. You may come across articles online that question the research or the findings of this statement — but after decades of medical investigations, it is safe to say that there is virtually no health benefit to smoking.
A new debate has arisen recently with the introduction of newer smoking products onto the market. E-cigarettes and vape pens are touted as safer alternatives that do not have the same health risks as more traditional cigarettes and pipes. In reality, the jury is still out on this statement due to the limited data following people who just smoke these newer products. We still do not know the full long-term risks of these products but in reality, they cannot be much safer than traditional cigarettes.
The link between smoking and dementia
Dementia is a condition caused by brain deterioration that leads to a progressive deficit in cognition, brain capacity, and behavior. It is similar in nature to Alzheimer's disease and there is a strong link between an Alzheimer's diagnosis and having earlier signs of dementia. Any risk factor that can lead to increased damage in the brain will accelerate dementia in a patient.
In one meta-analysis, a large population was examined to determine the full extent of the link between smoking and dementia. It was found that smoking was one of the highest risk factors for ultimately developing dementia, with a 34 percent increased relative risk. This means that if you look at two different people, a smoker will have a 34 percent greater risk of developing dementia later on in their life compared to a person who has never smoked cigarettes. Considering a 10 percent increase in risk is generally considered substantial in medicine, this should be interpreted as very clear evidence that smoking increases your odds of developing dementia.
When looking at the data for these studies, it is important to note that these statistics are indicative of what could happen if a person were to smoke one pack of cigarettes per day. This is the equivalence of smoking 20 cigarettes in one day. If a person were to smoke more than the standard pack of cigarettes each day, there would a much more substantial impact on the development of dementia.
The toxins in cigarette smoke are able to damage the vascular walls of blood vessels. This will damage the brain as well as other areas of the body. When the brain has a decline in the amount of blood and nutrients it receives, it will begin to deteriorate at a faster rate compared to what is seen during normal aging.
One interesting caveat is that some ingredients found in a cigarette are more likely to improve dementia. In numerous studies, it was found that nicotine can actually improve the signs of dementia. Patients who were given nicotine patches were found to have better scores on attention and speed testing compared to subjects who were not given nicotine. Based on the size of the investigation and the differences observed between the two separate groups, it is hard to conclude that nicotine is truly beneficial to these patients. It would be a far better use of your time to do more proactive activities to prevent dementia — like monitoring your blood pressure, controlling diabetes, and stimulating your brain with new information and facts to help brain neurons to grow.
The link between smoking and Alzheimer's disease
In numerous studies that were published in the last few decades, this was actually not the case, however. Studies found that smoking cigarettes actually seemed to protect patients from developing Alzheimer’s disease.
If you are already shocked by this revelation, there is a further caveat to this study. It was determined that after years of advertisements, this study was funded by a tobacco industry giant.
In separate studies where funding was not obtained through “Big Tobacco,” it was determined that patients who smoked had a slightly increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease compared to those who do not. The point of this anecdote is to show you how easily things can be accepted and considered to be truths in everyday living. You must think critically and use common sense to decide whether a story seems to make sense or does not and then try to identify what would be a reason for this nuance. Many people may come across an article online that says smoking is a good way to prevent Alzheimer's disease — but remember that this is not the case.
In further investigations of the true link between Alzheimer’s and smoking, it was determined that patients who smoke tend to have a more progressive form of Alzheimer’s due to the increased oxidative damage that occurs in the brain. Although we are still not completely sure what causes Alzheimer’s Disease, we are fairly confident in saying that it is due to misfolded proteins that occur when the body experiences a stressful state. Hypertension, high stress, and diabetes have been some of the most commonly studied reasons for these proteins to accumulate, but smoking has also been shown to increase these specific deficits.
Because Alzheimer’s is considered to be a disease of widespread damage in the brain, it makes sense that you would see these damaged proteins in multiple parts of the brain. This is the key distinction between Alzheimer’s and dementia. In dementia, a patient will experience cognitive decline and memory deficits, while in Alzheimer’s, you will also see changes in personality, inability to control bowel function, and depression.
This is because different lobes of the brain are responsible for symptoms of the disease. On neuro-imaging studies, it was found that patients who smoke will have higher concentrations of deposits of these damaged proteins throughout their brain. Although it is not a perfect comparison to say that patients who have more damaged proteins in their brain will have more severe forms of Alzheimer’s disease, or any Alzheimer’s for that matter, the evidence shows that patients who have high levels of proteins will generally have more diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s disease later on in life.
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