Information published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) has revealed that smokers have a 45% higher risk of developing dementia than non-smokers.
The evidence shows a strong link between smoking and the risk of dementia, and the more a person smokes, the higher the risk. It is estimated that almost 15% of Alzheimer’s disease cases worldwide are potentially due to smoking. Not to mention the risk factors associated with cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung disease and diabetes.
WHO have also warned that exposure to second-hand smoke (passive smoking) may also increase the risk of dementia, which affects more than 44 million people worldwide.
Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO feels that more work needs to be done to highlight potential risks and how to combat them.
“Since there is currently no cure for dementia, public health interventions need to focus on prevention by changing modifiable risk factors like smoking,” He said.
“This research shows that a decrease in smoking now is likely to result in a substantial decrease in the burden of dementia in the years to come.”
Tobacco Is One of the Biggest Public Health Threats the World Has Ever Faced
“Tobacco is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing nearly 6 million people a year,” says Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of the Department for Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO.
“WHO urges governments to actively implement and enforce the measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, especially smoke-free environment laws and access to tobacco cessation services”
Laurent Huber, Director of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) for Tobacco Control, comments: “It is no surprise to see these findings confirm that tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for dementia. This adds yet another item to the long list of the devastating consequences of tobacco and gives even more reason for personal and public health action to help people to quit smoking.”
“The research also shows that quitting smoking later in life might be beneficial so encouraging and supporting current tobacco users to quit should be a priority,” says Serge Gauthier, chair of the ADI’s Medical Scientific Advisory Committee.
The fact that there is substantial evidence linking smoking to different types of mental diseases and mental illnesses is even more proof of how unhealthy and toxic it is for our bodies and minds. I doubt this research will come as a shock to many but again I also doubt that many smokers will take heed of the advice presented therein.
Do you agree with the suggested idea of implementing smoke-free environment laws and how else can we help those who wish to give up smoking?
Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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