The harmful effects of smoking hardly constitute news these days. The dangers of smoking are well documented and have been well known since the 1960s (though the tobacco companies did all they could to keep a lid on it). These days, we all know that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health.
The risks involved with being in the company of someone smoking cigarettes, however, are less well defined. Second-hand smoke has long been suspected as being harmful, but recent research backs up this suspicion.
The dangers of smoking
Smoking cigarettes is bad for you –
even if someone else is doing it!
The group regularly exposed to second-hand smoke had been in the company of people smoking cigarettes for an average of 25 hours a week for around four and half years or more.
The researchers tested the groups on remembering to carry out a specific activity (time-based memory) and remembering planned activities (event-based memory). They found that the non-smokers who had been in the company of people smoking cigarettes forgot almost 20% more than those not exposed to the harmful effects of smoking. Both groups of non-smokers, however, performed far better than the smokers, who forgot 30% more than the non-smokers who were not exposed to second-hand smoke.
Dr Heffernan said:
The risks of smoking
The risks of smoking are well known. It’s long been accepted that smoking is bad for your health, and, by implication, that it’s bad for your memory.
Now it appears that there’s evidence that even second-hand smoke can affect your memory. If there’s anyone smoking cigarettes in your house, maybe you should show them this page!
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