吸烟者会丧失三分之一日常记忆

People who smoke could lose around one third of their everyday memory, researchers say.

A study by a team at Northumbria University has shown that smokers lose more of their memory when compared to non-smokers.

And the research also found that those who kicked the habit saw their ability to recollect information restored to almost the same level as non-smokers.

The study involved more than seventy 18 to 25-year-olds and included a tour of the university’s campus.

Those who took part were asked to recall small details, such as music acts listed to play at the students’ union and tasks completed at various points - known as real world memory test.

Smokers performed badly, remembering just 59 percent of tasks.

But those who had given up smoking remembered 74 percent and those who had never smoked recalled 81 percent of tasks.

Dr Tom Heffernan, who leads Northumbria University’s Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group, said the findings would be useful in anti-smoking campaigns.

He said: 'Given that there are up to 10million smokers in the UK and as many 45million in the United States, it’s important to understand the effects smoking has on everyday cognitive function - of which prospective memory is an excellent example.

'This is the first time that a study has set out to examine whether giving up smoking has impact on memory.

'We already know that giving up smoking has huge health benefits for the body, but this study also shows how stopping smoking can have knock-on benefits for cognitive functions too.'

The research will now investigate the effects of passive smoking on memory, while Dr Heffernan and Dr Terence O’Neill will look into the effects of 'third-hand smoking' - toxins left on curtains and furniture.

研究人员称，吸烟者会丧失约三分之一的日常记忆。

诺森比亚大学的一个团队的研究显示，吸烟者和不吸烟者相比，会丧失更多记忆。

研究还发现，那些戒烟者发现自己回忆信息的能力恢复到了和不吸烟者相近的水平。

参与该研究的是70多名18到25岁的青年，他们在该大学校园中游览了一番。

研究人员请那些参与者回忆一些细节，如学生会演出的音乐剧目和在不同时间和地点完成的任务，这就是所谓的“真实世界记忆测试”。

那些吸烟者表现很差，只记得59%的任务。

但那些戒烟者记得74%的任务，从未吸过烟的人记得81%的任务。

诺森比亚大学的毒品和酒精共同研究小组的领头人汤姆•赫夫南博士说这些研究发现将有助于反吸烟活动的开展。

他说：“考虑到英国有1000万吸烟者，美国有4500万吸烟者，了解吸烟对于日常认知功能的影响是很重要的，在这方面记忆力就是个很好的例子。

“该研究首次检测戒烟是否会对记忆产生影响。

“我们已经知道，戒烟对身体健康有极大的益处，但这项研究还显示，戒烟对于认知功能也有间接的好处。”

现在该研究将开始调查吸二手烟对记忆的影响，而赫夫南博士和特伦斯•奥尼尔博士将研究“吸三手烟”——吸烟后残留在窗帘和家具上的毒素对人体的影响。