05/20/2026
Another Reason To Quit
Quitting smoking may promote better lung function, lower your risk of premature death, reduce your risk of certain cancers and cut your risk of heart attack and stroke. There's much evidence regarding quitting earlier in life to reduce the physical and cognitive health damage of smoking. A new study suggests that quitting even in mid- to later life might still be beneficial in slowing cognitive decline. Researchers studied about 4,700 adults ages 40-89 and found that for smokers who quit, memory decline rate was delayed by 20% and verbal fluency decline rate was slowed by about 50%, when compared to those who did not quit.