Smoking, has a benefit?

[Pikarya]

This is news to me, was actually quite surprised how small the pool of information on this is right now (obviously due to agencies that don't want to promote it). But whatever.

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2...-dramatically/

It's a catchy headline – smoking cuts Parkinson's risk dramatically – and it appears to be true, but researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Science don't want you to start smoking.

"Nobody should advocate smoking to prevent Parkinson's disease," said Dr. Honglei Chen, a tenure-track investigator at the Institute. "It’s important to make that very, very clear."

The study, released today in the journal Neurology looked at the lifetime smoking history of more than 300,000 people, and confirmed the inverse relationship between smoking and Parkinson's disease, established in earlier scientific studies. But, researchers say they've found a critical new piece to the puzzle: It appears to be the length of time one has been a smoker – not the number of cigarettes smoked – that has the most effect on disease risk reduction.

"People who smoked more than 40 years had a 46 percent decrease in Parkinson's disease risk," said Chen. "Whereas people who smoked between one and nine years had only an 8 percent decrease in risk."

Chen, the lead study author, and his colleagues cannot yet identify the reasons behind this staggering link, but say when they are able to determine which chemicals in the cigarettes seem to be have a protective effect, they hope to be able to develop a drug that can mimic the effects of smoking, without the harmful risks.

"I think the findings are very important, but it is time now for scientists to search for the active chemicals, and to understand biological mechanisms."

Smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and has been linked to an increase in heart-disease risk, stroke risk, and several types of cancers.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

Posted by: Matt Sloane - CNN Medical Producer
Filed under: Health • Smoking

After a small search on youtube; came across this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bQAzY9qYXg

So now my curiosity lingers, what could be in a cigarette that is causing these beneficial effects? Maybe Nicotine acts as a double edged sword? Or maybe its something entirely different.

In any case, its recently affecting a family member so I've been doing more and more research on it and stumbled across this.

[Heavencloud]

They had a 46% less chance of getting Parkinsons because they were already dead, thus decreasing infection rate.

[Gryffes]

They had a 46% less chance of getting Parkinsons because they were already dead, thus decreasing infection rate.

This.

[Raen Ryong]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...lGearSolid.jpg

?

[Omniyoji]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...lGearSolid.jpg

?

^ The only benefit I thought

[alt]

You don't get infected with Parkinson's disease...

[Howard Roark]

Parkinsons average age that it sets in is well after the average age people die from smoking related health problems

semantics

[Vajra]

All they have to do is extract the component from cigarettes that help reduce the occurrence of Parkinson's Disease and turn it into a drug of it's own. CNN medical correspondent lady said that that's the way they want to do it. She said they weren't giving out this information to persuade people to smoke because it's only 1 component of cigarettes that helps in this prevention method.

[Max™]

Besides making you look awesome?

http://people.moreheadstate.edu/fs/r...james_dean.jpg
http://www.hotfunnyclub.com/swf/smoking_is_cool.jpg
http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/23117-23.jpg

[SDSD]

All they have to do is extract the component from cigarettes that help reduce the occurrence of Parkinson's Disease and turn it into a drug of it's own. CNN medical correspondent lady said that that's the way they want to do it. She said they weren't giving out this information to persuade people to smoke because it's only 1 component of cigarettes that helps in this prevention method.

This couldn't be further from the truth. You're assuming we can pin this effect down to one chemical and it's possible effects, and totally ignoring the much more likely notion that the mechanism likely involves multiple acting molecules given the composition of cigarettes and cigarette smoke.

It just might be one part, but we have a long, long way to go before we can definitively say that.

[Howard Roark]

http://www.stmarysstar.com.au/multim...rge/675050.jpg

[Rhyis.]

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/e...-guy-smoke.jpg

[byte]

Not news and not bullshit. Nicotine stimulates receptors in the brain which prevents the deterioration that can lead to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. On the other hand, it also it more than doubles your risk to every form of cancer known to man and various other diseases of vital organs. On top of that, it costs a ton of money.

This couldn't be further from the truth. You're assuming we can pin this effect down to one chemical and it's possible effects, and totally ignoring the much more likely notion that the mechanism likely involves multiple acting molecules given the composition of cigarettes and cigarette smoke.

It just might be one part, but we have a long, long way to go before we can definitively say that.

It's nicotine because the addiction forces a release of dopamine when satisfied and keeps the mind active.

[scrockstar]

There is no free lunch in nature

[ZarakiKujata]

Nicotine has also been shown to be beneficial if you have ulcerative colitis.

[kuronosan]

Wow. Not even going to bother here.

[Dolmen]

They've also found that smokers have a lower rate of canker sores. Granted I don't know if the pounding my lungs took from smoking was worth it. >.>

[Galkaeater]

your less likely to die of old age if you smoke

[Fistandantilus]

your less likely to die of old age if you smoke

Well that's reason enough for me!

Plus it helps you pick up hot chicks, because them hoes love a dude who is so obviously badass.

[Mizango]

All they have to do is extract the component from cigarettes that help reduce the occurrence of Parkinson's Disease and turn it into a drug of it's own. CNN medical correspondent lady said that that's the way they want to do it. She said they weren't giving out this information to persuade people to smoke because it's only 1 component of cigarettes that helps in this prevention method.

lol

CNN medical correspondent lady said.....

looool