Smoking/Drinking Combo Accelerates Cognitive Decline

The combination of smoking and heavy drinking accelerates cognitive decline more than either habit alone, new research shows.

A large, longitudinal study conducted by investigators from University College London in the United Kingdom showed that individuals who smoked and were also heavy drinkers had a 36% faster rate of cognitive decline than nonsmoking moderate drinkers.

“Our research shows that cognitive decline was 35% faster in those people who reported both cigarette smoking and drinking alcohol above the recommended limits (14 units per week for women, 21 units per week for men). When we looked at people who were heavy-drinking smokers, we found that for every 10 years that they aged, their brains aged the equivalent of 12 years,” lead investigator Gareth Hagger-Johnson, PhD, said in a statement.

The study was published online July 11 in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Lane says: If you drink, don’t smoke; if you smoke, don’t drink.

It’s so hard to keep these things straight: Oh, just go ahead don’t do either! [actually, a small amount of alcohol is better than no drinking for our long-term health so a SMALL AMOUNT is ok]