When you think about the health impacts of smoking, your lungs are probably the first thing that comes to mind. But smoking’s ill effects extend far beyond your respiratory system.
“Smoking and nicotine addiction can have a big impact on your brain health,” says Amanda L. Holm, MPH, who manages the Tobacco Treatment Service at Henry Ford Health. “The good news is that if you quit, your body—including your brain—manages to recover substantially.”
Smoking and Stroke Risk
One of the many negative health effects of smoking is how it impacts your veins and circulatory system. Smoking can increase your heart rate and your blood pressure. And it also affects how your veins and arteries function.
“Smoking affects the inner surfaces of the veins, building up plaque and making them less flexible,” explains Holm. That means blood doesn’t flow through veins as easily. And when there’s less blood flow, there’s less oxygen traveling through your body to feed your muscles, heart and brain.
This buildup of plaque in the arteries is called peripheral artery disease (PAD). People with this condition are at significantly higher risk of stroke.
“A stroke is a bleed in the brain, which is one of the most detrimental things that can happen to the brain,” says Holm.
Smoking and Dementia Risk
Smoking’s effect on the veins and reduction in blood flow may also impact your cognitive health. People who smoke have a significantly higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Research has found that current smokers have a 30% greater risk of dementia than those who’ve never smoked. And the more you smoke, the greater that risk becomes.
How Nicotine Addiction Affects Your Brain
The nicotine in cigarettes is a highly addictive chemical that has numerous negative effects on your brain and overall mental well-being.
“Nicotine hijacks natural brain functions that make sure we do important things like eating and drinking,” says Holm. “And being addicted to nicotine increases the risk of anxiety and depression—or can make those mental health conditions worse.”
When you smoke, nicotine enters the bloodstream and travels to the brain, where it triggers the release of the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine makes you feel good, but only temporarily. Over time, this process rewires your brain’s reward system—making you crave more nicotine in order to feel those positive effects.
Tobacco Treatment Service At Henry Ford Health
What Happens When You Quit Smoking
Most people struggle to quit smoking because it’s so addictive. But if you do successfully quit, you’ll be rewarded with numerous health benefits.
“The circulatory system rebounds substantially after quitting, which is good news for your brain,” says Holm. Within the first few hours of not smoking, your heart rate and blood pressure already start dropping to healthier levels. And in a matter of weeks, your circulation starts to improve.
If you stick with it, the benefits continue to grow. One study found that after nine years of not smoking, people’s risk of dementia had fallen back to the same levels as those who had never smoked.
Strategies for Successfully Quitting Smoking
As any smoker knows, quitting smoking isn’t easy. Most people try several times before they manage to successfully stop long-term.
Successful quitting often requires a multipronged approach. “Research shows that the best chance of quitting comes with a combination of medication and coaching or counseling support,” says Holm. “We’ve found that with that combination, people are 10 times more likely to be successful at quitting than when trying to do it without both components.”
The health improvements after quitting smoking are so significant that it’s never too late to benefit from kicking the habit. “The best time to quit was sometime before now,” says Holm. “The second-best time is now.”
Reviewed by Amanda L. Holm, MPH, a senior project manager of the Tobacco Treatment Service at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Henry Ford Health.
