At this point, we all know smoking is terrible for you. It causes lung cancer, heart disease, and various dental problems. There are, of course, some benefits (makes you look cool, aides concentration while night blogging, etc). But even if you're one of the remaining few heroic smokers, this should give you pause; a new study at King's London College London finds smoking will "rot" your brain.

The study was designed to investigate the link between heart attack or stroke and the well-being of the human brain. The findings were...not good, at least for smokers.

The results showed that the overall risk of a heart attack or stroke was "significantly associated with cognitive decline" with those at the highest risk showing the greatest decline.

It also said there was a "consistent association" between smoking and lower scores in the tests.

But before you all freak out because you forgot something earlier today and just the other night, you had almost four full cigarettes while at a bar with your high school friends, it should be noted that this study mostly applies to the olds, or, as Dr. Simon Ridley at Alzheimer's Research UK put it, people in "mid-life."



"These results underline the importance of looking after your cardiovascular health from mid-life."

In other words: smoke away until you're old. It's also possible I'm intentionally misreading this study's results, so perhaps consider not smoking at all.

[Image via Shutterstock]