Quitting Smoking at Any Age May Protect Brain Health: Lancet Study Shows - Video

A new study published in The Lancet reveals that quitting smoking even in your 40s, 50s, or later can significantly slow down memory loss and cognitive decline as you age. The large-scale analysis emphasizes that it’s never too late to quit, as doing so can help preserve brain function, reduce the risk of dementia, and maintain mental sharpness for longer.

Cognitive decline, which includes memory loss, reduced focus, and slower thinking, naturally occurs with aging. However, researchers from a global collaborative team wanted to understand how smoking habits might accelerate or slow this process. They examined long-term data from adults across 12 countries, tracking changes in brain performance over time, including memory, verbal ability, and mental processing speed.

Participants in the study were categorized into four groups: never smokers, current smokers, those who quit in midlife (40s or 50s), and those who quit later in life. Brain function was measured before and after smoking cessation, offering valuable insights into how timing of quitting influenced cognitive aging.

The results were clear: quitting smoking, even after decades, slowed the rate of cognitive decline. The most substantial brain health improvements were seen in adults who quit in their 40s or 50s. However, individuals who gave up smoking in their 60s or 70s also experienced measurable benefits, proving that it’s never too late to take action. Those who had never smoked showed the slowest cognitive decline overall, reinforcing that prevention is ideal but quitting at any age remained better than continuing.

The study concludes that whether you’ve smoked for years or decades, quitting now can slow brain aging and support better mental function.

Reference: Cognitive decline before and after mid-to-late-life smoking cessation: a longitudinal analysis of prospective cohort studies from 12 countries, Bloomberg, Mikaela et al. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, Volume 0, Issue 0, 100753