Brain damaging habit 9 of 10: Cigarette smoking and Alcohol consumption

Smoking is a damaging habit for the brain and other organs in the body. On autopsy, chronic smokers are found to have a thinner brain cortex than non-smokers. This part of the brain is essential for memory, language, perception and a host of other functions of the brain. A thinner brain cortex is associated with mental decline. These effects can also be reproduced in passive smokers, that is, people who stay with active smokers and end up unintentionally inhaling the polluted air.
Alcohol consumption affects the body in many ways and has long lasting damaging effects on the brain even after it has left the body. Chronic alcohol use is associated with impaired memory and a slowing in reaction time. People who have been consuming large amounts of alcohol for extended periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain that persist well after the person achieves sobriety.

Quit cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.

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