How Smoking Affects the Risk of Vascular Dementia — and Tips to Quit

You may already know that smoking tobacco is a major risk factor for lung cancer and heart disease. But did you know that smoking is also linked to brain health?

That’s because smoking may do significant damage to your blood vessels. It can lead to high blood pressure, and when you have high blood pressure, your blood vessels contract. Sometimes they become clogged with plaque buildup, which may cause small strokes.

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia, and it is often caused by plaque buildup in the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. 

How does smoking increase the risk of vascular dementia?

If you’re already a smoker, one of the best ways to reduce your risk of developing vascular dementia is to quit smoking. This can reduce the risk of further damage to the blood vessels that lead to your brain.

Of course, quitting smoking is often not easy.

“Quitting smoking is probably one of the most difficult and challenging things to do, and it shouldn't be done in isolation,” says Pilar Stevens-Haynes, MD, Cardiologist with South Nassau Community Hospital in Oceanside, New York.

What are tips to quit smoking?

In order to quit smoking, Dr. Stevens-Haynes suggests:

• Medications: Taking medications like Chantix (varenicline) can mimic the effects of nicotine perceived in the brain.

• Nicotine replacement: Longer-acting patches and shorter-acting gum offer a different way for you to get nicotine without some of the other contaminants present in cigarettes. This can be a helpful way to transition completely from nicotine.

• Counseling: This can help you make a plan to quit smoking, and to deal with the related stress you may have around quitting and/or what led you to smoke.

• Setting a date: By picking a date in the near future, putting it on your calendar, and reminding yourself every day, you’ll have time to prepare to quit.

“If we can get to the target of stopping smoking, you can actually reverse some of that disease that you see in the vessels,” says Dr. Stevens-Haynes.

Talk to your healthcare provider for more information and support for quitting smoking.

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Written by:

Marisa Taylor Karas

Marisa Taylor Karas is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn who has covered health, gender, and technology for 15 years. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera America, among other publications, and also served as managing editor of the Mellon Foundation in New York City.

Reviewed by:

Mera Goodman, MD, FAAP

Mera Goodman, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician. Prior to practicing medicine, she worked as a management consultant.

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