Second-hand smoke can make you senile

[Darth Wong]

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/ ... itive.html

2nd-hand smoke, cognitive impairment linked: study
Last Updated: Friday, February 13, 2009 | 10:31 AM ET
CBC News

Exposure to second-hand smoke may increase the risk of developing dementia, according to a study by British and American researchers.

While scientists have long suspected a link between smoking and cognitive impairment, the study is the first large-scale attempt to link second-hand smoke to increased risk for cognitive impairment.

In a study in Thursday's online British Medical Journal, researchers with the universities of Cambridge and Michigan tested saliva samples of nearly 5,000 non-smokers over age 50. They were looking for cotinine — a product of nicotine that can be found in saliva for about a day after exposure to smoke.

Participants were also assessed for brain function and cognitive impairment.

The study found people with the highest cotinine levels had a 44 per cent increased risk of cognitive impairment, compared to people with the lowest cotinine levels.

The researchers argue the link between second-hand smoke and cognitive impairment could be explained, given that heart disease increases the risk of developing dementia and second-hand smoke exposure is known to cause heart disease.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Mark Eisner from the University of California said while the serious negative health effects of second-hand smoke like cancer and premature death have been established beyond doubt, there is still a lot to learn about the scale of illness caused by second-hand smoke.

"Emerging evidence suggests that parental smoking may impair childhood cognitive development," he writes. "Later in life, second-hand smoke may cause cardiovascular disease and stroke, which are themselves linked to cognitive decline."

Notice how this study directly measures exposure to second-hand smoke by identifying chemical constituents found in second-hand smoke exposure rather than making completely groundless assumptions from survey questions about living with a smoker, like some of the idiotic bullshit pseudo-studies that smokers used to cite.

[Kanastrous]

So, are you stupid for living with a smoker, or does living with a smoker make you stupid?

Both!

[Uraniun235]

I wonder what the effects of second-hand smoke could be to developing (i.e. childrens') brains.


My parents smoked when I was growing up. I distinctly remember staying in my room to play after seeing a thick haze of cigarette smoke in the living room, and I distinctly remember more than one unpleasant winter car ride where my parents both smoked in the car with the windows rolled up.

[Akkleptos]

So if I'm a smoker, and you happen to be near me frequently, that makes you stupid?

Self reply: if you willingly hang around them, you probably are.

As I see it, smokers have consciously/unconsciously forfeited an otherwise likely-long lifespan. Most people in most civilised countries are aware of the dangers of smoking. And there are lots of smoke free zones to be if you don't want the stench of unwanted smoke anywhere near you.

I happen to be an alcohol-o-smoker, and an on-and-off smoker otherwise, meaning I usually smoke only when I drink *puts on fire-retardant outfit*. Which means that I find second-hand smoke, particularly when I'm not smoking myself (in the aforementioned circumstances) to be just nasty to me.

But don't you guys try and say anything against alcohol...

GOD™ will punish ye for that! For He hath sayeth: bonum vinum lætificat cor hominis

That'd be just... heresy!

[Uraniun235]

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

[Samuel]

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

Yeah- the booze shuts down your ability for logical thinking and your taste.

[Punarbhava]

*cough* Correlation != causation. Interesting study though.

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

Both act on the opiate pathway (linkeh). Maybe someone can find something in alcohol pharmacology that relates; there's quite a lot alcohol affects.

[Darth Wong]

*cough* Correlation != causation.

No, but causation is a good explanation for a correlation, particularly if it is well-controlled. If the study does not suffer from serious methodology problems and no other explanation presents itself ...

[Stark]

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

Habit. Many people smoke in situations where they also drink, and doing so together creates and association that feeds both habits (but smoking much more so).

[Gil Hamilton]

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

More of a social coincidence thing. People smoke and drink to relieve stress. At a bar, it's possible that they'll be doing both, particularly if they are chatting people up and need something to do with their hands/mouth.

[Posner]

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

I can only speak from personal experience, but when I smoke a cigarette after drinking the effect of the "buzz" is much more intense than if I smoked a cigarette sober.

[Kitsune]

One item I am curious are hard numbers on actual number of smokers

Watching a number of recordings of James Randi during the 1970s and it seems like everybody smoked. What were the actual percentages of smokers then as compared to now?

[Medic]

Why do some people specifically smoke when they drink? Is there some kind of interaction between nicotine and alcohol that I'm unaware of?

I can only speak from personal experience, but when I smoke a cigarette after drinking the effect of the "buzz" is much more intense than if I smoked a cigarette sober.

Basically, "It feels good." If you're speaking from the POV of "never smoked a cigarette in my life" you're speaking from complete ignorance.

Yeah- the booze shuts down your ability for logical thinking and your taste.

See above. Taste varies by person. Dozens of tastes / preferences / tendencies vary by person and having smoked only very moderately both sober and drunk, cigarettes's aren't so repulsive that I can only handle it while drunk; taste isn't at all a factor, if anything, only inhibition is. Alcohol might lower your inhibition to smoking the 1st time but if you like the high, you're open to going back to it. Speaking from personal experience and POV, I'd say predisposition informed by alcohol and nicotine's more harmful effects means I am one of those "tends to only smoke when drinks" people. (although I do smoke when I drink sometimes, it is definitely not all the time; I drink far more often than I smoke and I smoke more than a few times without drinking... RARELY more than once a day)

WRT to 2nd hand smoking: an asshole is an asshole. An asshole who is a smoker (and strongly addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes) is noticed as such usually only because they are a smoker, leave their butts everywhere and don't at all consider others in public when smoking. When I do smoke it's almost entirely in sociall situations with other smokers or in my car -- you can find all my cigarette butts in the passenger side cupholder in my car, before then end up in the trash.

I say again: an asshole is an asshole and someone who isn't, isn't. That smokers are more immediately identifiable as such is only because of the general negative disposition on this board towards smokers; this means you see all of the asshole smokers to the exclusion of the more courteous ones whom remove themselves from the crowd / a party / other people when they do smoke and who don't litter inconsiderately.

In short, I'm arguing the same selective-memory / selective-retention phenomena that accompanies a belief in miracles might easily be manifesting itself WRT this board's opinion of smoker's. You see the assholes, that much I'll never argue -- whom don't you see though?