Smoking will cause decline in IQ and thinking ability

[chelsea8611]

Smoking will cause decline in IQ and thinking ability

The poorer mental function seen among alcoholics, many of whom also regularly smoke cigarettes, may be partially due to the long-term effects of nicotine,new research suggests.
"People who are also smokers are at a much higher risk," Dr. Jennifer M. Glass, of the University of Michigan's Addiction Research Center, said.
In her study, "cigarette smoking was negatively related to IQ and thinking," she said.
This finding may seem counterintuitive , since many smokers attest to feeling more alert and focused after smoking. Indeed, research shows that improved mental functioning is one of the immediate effects of nicotine exposure. Chronic smoking, however, is known to have the opposite effect.
Studies show that up to 87 percent of alcoholics smoke cigarettes. Yet, few studies have looked into cigarette smoking as a factor that might explain the cognitive deficits reported among alcoholics.
To investigate that association, Glass and her colleagues examined brain function among 172 men from the same community, including 103 men who abused alcohol.
The team found that men with higher scores on the lifetime alcohol problems scale (LAPS) and those who reported a higher number of pack-years of smoking both had lower IQ scores.
Upon further investigation, the researchers found that smoking also appeared to be independently associated with weaker verbal and visual-spatial reasoning.
Thus, though smoking did not account for all of the decreased neurocognitive functioning observed among the alcohol abusers, it did seem to account for some of the effects, the report indicates.

[Godiva]

It also inhibits healing and contributes to back problems.

Smoking constricts blood vessels resulting in poor circulation.

So not only is smoking stupid, smoking makes you stupid.

(BTW this includes snuff and chew.)

[Stev0]

Funny, I always thought a decline of IQ lead to smoking.

[JackDodge]

Originally Posted by Stev0

Funny, I always thought a decline of IQ lead to smoking.

I didn't know that Bush smoked. It would explain a few things though.

[Froley1]

Einstein smoked

Froley

[Sufferin' Prius Envy]

Originally Posted by JackDodge

I didn't know that Bush smoked. It would explain a few things though.

You do realize . . .



. . . the damage has already been done.

[Sufferin' Prius Envy]

Originally Posted by Froley1

Einstein smoked
Froley

DANG! I wonder what brilliant thoughts he didn't think because he smoked.

[amm0bob]

I stopped smoking tobacco in 2003.

I got the flu and a pneumonia that... well, nearly made it impossible to breathe...

So I stopped smoking.

I thought it was the intelligent thing to do... but to be honest and all... I enjoy the taste... the smell... the oral touch... the feeling of the passing of the warm smoke passing into my throat over my tongue... the ability to make the smoke play tricks in front of your face for others to remark about... the feeling you get when you hotbox a full strength Camel Unfiltered or a regular Pall Mall... it is an addiction... a powerful addiction... one that I can remember giving myself as a reward.

A reward that was included in my field rations as a soldier... a feeling I shared on one cig with a dear friend and then never again.


I started smoking it in the 60's... and as I said... I quit a while back.


But... my family still grows tobacco in Ohio, and we have kin growing it too...

[Boo]

Chelsea,

I'd rather read her study than snippets from her 3 years old press release about her study.

Do you have a pdf of her study or a link to it?

[JackDodge]

Originally Posted by Sufferin' Prius Envy

You do realize . . .



. . . the damage has already been done.

Typical neon, no sense of humor. Lighten up, Francis.