No smoking There really is no good news for smokers these days. Being banned from pubs and restaurants, vilified in the press for costing the taxpayer millions in healthcare, and now a new problem: increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
Previous studies, many of which were affiliated with the tobacco industry, had indicated that smoking may even protect against the disease. But this latest research, undertaken at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, found the reverse to be true.
Assessing 43 published studies looking at the link between smoking and Alzheimer’s, the researchers found that those studies affiliated in some way with members of the tobacco industry were more likely to come to the conclusion that smoking was protective rather than harmful.
Using the results of their research, the study authors calculated that a smoker had a 1.72 risk of developing Alzheimer’s; compared to 0.86 for a non-smoker.