Researchers have been studying the health effects of smoking for decades. Tobacco smoke puts a smoker at risk for heart disease and lung cancer and exposes others to these same risks. The carcinogens in cigarette smoke are known for their toxic effects on the lungs. Research seems to indicate that these same carcinogens as well as other effects of smoking can impact brain health as well.
Brain Damage
Researchers Debapriya Ghosh and Dr. Anirban Basu discovered that 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, a common substance in cigarettes known as NNK, can cause white blood cells to attack healthy cells in the brain, resulting in brain damage. NNK promotes neuroinflammation, or an inflammation of brain tissue, which is linked to diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The researchers found that NNK was present in secondhand smoke as well.
Stroke
Smoking constricts blood vessels in the brain. This constriction decreases blood flow, limiting the supply of oxygen to the brain. Smoking also makes blood thicker, increasing the chance that it will form blood clots, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders. When blood vessels are already constricted and a blood clot forms in the brain, a stroke occurs. A stroke is a medical emergency. When blood flow is cut off from the brain, the cells in the brain start to die within minutes.
Decreased Intelligence
Intelligence is affected by smoking. Dr. Mark Weiser of Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, found that compared to those of nonsmokers, IQ scores in young men who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day were 7.5 points lower. The subjects of the research were 20,000 18-year-old men who had been recruited into the Israeli army. The data show that the drop in IQ was related to the number of cigarettes smoked.
