Smokers unaware that quitting smoking will reduce risk of dementia
Smokers in BaNES are being urged to give quitting a go ahead of No Smoking Day (8th March), as research shows those who smoke are more likely to develop dementia.
The annual awareness day encourages smokers to make a quit attempt and this year’s theme is 'stopping smoking protects your brain health'.
According to Alzheimer's Research UK, dementia is the most feared health condition for people over the age of 55 – more than any other life-threatening disease including cancer and diabetes.[1]
Yet YouGov data [2] commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) revealed 20% of people who smoke in the South West know that smoking increases the risk of dementia, compared to 80% who know that smoking causes lung diseases or cancers.
Smoking raises the risk of developing dementia [3], particularly Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, as it harms the vascular system (heart and blood vessels) and the brain. [4]. Studies also suggest that quitting smoking reduces this risk substantially [5], and smoking has been identified as one of twelve risk factors that if eliminated entirely, could collectively prevent or delay up to 40% of dementia cases.[3]
However, data from Alzheimer's Research UK show only a third of UK adults know there are things they can do to help reduce their risk of dementia [1], and stopping smoking is one of them.
BaNES Wellbeing Service offers free stop smoking support to anyone who lives or works in BaNES and No Smoking Day is a great opportunity to take the next step to quitting. Those who smoke are three times more likely to quit with the support of the Specialist Stop Smoking Service than going it alone. We know that “what’s good for the heart is good for the head” and quitting smoking is an important way to protect your brain health and reduce the risk of dementia as well as lung disease, cancer and heart disease. To refer yourself or someone else for support to quit contact the Community Wellbeing Hub on 0300 247 0050 or BATHNES.thehub@hcrgcaregroup.com
You can also visit www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ to find out where you can get free access to the latest quitting aids, apps, information, one-to-one advice, and local support.
References
[1] Alzheimer’s Research UK. Public attitudes towards dementia. 2021.
[2] ASH Smokefree GB Adult Survey. Total sample size was 13,088 respondents. The online survey was undertaken between 16th February – 21st March 2022. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults
[3] Livingston G, Huntley J, Sommerlad A, Ames D, Ballard C, Banerjee S, Brayne C, Burns A, Cohen-Mansfield J, Cooper C, Costafreda SG. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. The Lancet. 2020 Aug 8;396(10248):413-46.
[4] Tobacco use and dementia. WHO tobacco knowledge summaries. 8 July 2014
[5] "Former smokers did not show an increased risk of all-cause dementia (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.96-1.06), AD (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96-1.13) and VaD (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.83-1.13)." 2015 meta-analysis - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25763939/