Smoking Is a Silent Killer

Smoking Is a Silent Killer

Researchers claim that smoking is detrimental to memory .Prolonged

heavy nicotine use has a negative effect on day-to-day memory,

according to research. Researchers from five universities asked smokers

and non-smokers to rate their long-term memory, for example

remembering to send birthday cards. They found that smoking

significantly impaired memory, with heavy smokers reporting the most

errors. The survey was carried out by teams from Newcastle, Wales,

North Umbria, Westminster and Teesside universities. The survey

involved more than 700 people. Researcher Dr Tom Heffernan, of the

human cognitive neuroscience unit at North Umbria University, also

tested everyday memory including remembering where people had put

things. The teams also took into consideration how much people smoked

- a heavy smoker was classed as having more than 15 cigarettes a week

and alight smoker between one and four cigarettes a week. Dr Heffernan

said: "The result of the study revealed that smokers reported more errors

in their long-term memory than non-smokers with an additional

difference between non-smokers and heavy smokers". There was also a

significant detrimental effect of cigarette use on everyday memory

function. For example a typical heavy smoker reported 22% more

memory-related problems than a non smoker and around 12% more

problems than those who smoked only relatively a small number of

cigarettes It is concluded that chronic, heavy smoking is associated with

impairments in everyday memory, although the precise nature of the

deficits are as yet unknown.