Where there's smoke there's fire
Despite the long-standing and aggressive campaigns against cigarette smoking that show up on TV, online and in print, around 25 million Americans still use cigarettes and millions more are vaping tobacco. Smoking and secondhand smoke cause almost half a million deaths a year in the U.S. And they're a cause of or contributor to cancer, lung, cardiovascular, autoimmune and eye disease, Type 2 diabetes and reproductive problems.
But wait! If those dangers aren't enough to get you to stop smoking, here's another good reason to stop. Folks who quit smoking reduce their risk for dementia by 16% compared to regular smokers.
A study in Neurology looked at 25 years of data on about 33,000 folks and saw that those who stopped smoking -- and did not gain more than around 10 pounds -- were significantly less likely to develop dementia. By their 7th year of quitting, they had the same lower risk of dementia as folks who never smoked! However, folks who quit but gained 22 pounds or more after stopping received no protection from dementia. That is because overweight and obesity are their own dementia risks -- fueling inflammation and damaging brain health. (If you quit and take GLP-1s and a statin to decrease inflammation, you can gain even more risk reduction.)
If you want help quitting tobacco and nicotine, go to smokefree.gov and cdc.gov/tobacco/about/how-to-quit.html. And for lifestyle support to help you achieve a happier, healthier, longer life, check out 4YOUngevity.com and preorder my new book, "YOU: Getting Older: The Owner's Manual for Your Golden Years."
Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Check out his latest, "The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow," and find out more at www.4YOUngevity.com. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Mike at questions@4YOUngevity.com.
(c)2026 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2026 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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