Dementia risk for people who quit smoking in middle age ‘same as someone who never smoked’

Research finds kicking the habit halves rate of decline in verbal fluency and slows memory loss by 20%

People who stop smoking in middle age can reduce their cognitive decline so dramatically that within 10 years their chances of developing dementia are the same as someone who has never smoked, research has found.

Kicking the habit halves the rate of decline in verbal fluency and slows the loss of memory by 20%, according to a study of 9,436 people in England, the US and 10 other European countries.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence that quitting smoking can slow the rate of mental deterioration that ageing brings and thus help prevent the onset of dementia.

“Our study suggests that quitting smoking may help people to maintain better cognitive health over the long term even when we are in our 50s or older when we quit”, said Dr Mikaela Bloomberg of University College London, the lead researcher.