Scientists Discover Horrifying Effect Smoking Has on Your Brain

In an eye-opening research study, scientists have delved deep into the effects of smoking on human health, but this time with a different focus than usual. While most of us are familiar with the dangers smoking poses to our lungs and heart, researchers have uncovered something equally concerning about its impact on our brains.

A comprehensive study conducted by scientists from Missouri and North Carolina analyzed data from an impressive 32,094 Europeans, using information from the UK Biobank. Their goal? To understand the relationship between smoking and brain volume, building upon previous knowledge that suggested links between smoking behavior and reduced brain matter.

The research team, led by senior author Laura J. Bierut, MD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Psychiatry, made a startling revelation. “Up until recently, scientists have overlooked the effects of smoking on the brain, in part because we were focused on all the terrible effects of smoking on the lungs and the heart,” Bierut explained. “But as we’ve started looking at the brain more closely, it’s become apparent that smoking is also really bad for your brain.”

After analyzing health behaviors, brain scans, and genetic risk factors, the researchers discovered that daily smoking can lead to a significant decrease in brain volume. Even more concerning, they found that heavy smokers face more severe consequences, with greater brain mass loss occurring the longer someone continues to smoke. Once this brain volume is lost, it’s gone forever.

The implications of these findings are particularly alarming when considering brain aging. The study revealed that smoking doesn’t just shrink the brain – it actually accelerates the aging process. In fact, the research team estimates that a staggering 14 percent of global Alzheimer’s disease cases might be attributed to cigarette smoking.

“It sounds bad, and it is bad,” Bierut emphasized. “A reduction in brain volume is consistent with increased aging. This is important as our population gets older, because aging and smoking are both risk factors for dementia.”

However, there is some hope in these findings. Yoonhoo Chang, the study’s first author and Washington University School of Medicine graduate student, offered an important perspective: “You can’t undo the damage that has already been done, but you can avoid causing further damage. Smoking is a modifiable risk factor. There’s one thing you can change to stop aging your brain and putting yourself at increased risk of dementia, and that’s to quit smoking.”

The study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, adds to the growing body of evidence about the comprehensive health risks associated with smoking, making it clearer than ever that protecting our brain health is yet another crucial reason to avoid or quit smoking.