Smokefree Mumbai campaign responds to recent study by BCM, Houston that claims smoking create stronger memory

It has been scientifically proven, time and again, that smoking leads to memory decline. Extensive research conducted by several reputed institutions, including the University College of London (UCL)(2003) the Erasmus Medical Centre, Netherlands(2008) and the University of Minnesota(2009) stand testimony to this long-standing fact. Yet, a study conducted recently, by the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, claims smoking creates stronger memories. 

Speaking on the issue, Dr Surendra Shastri, chairman of the Smokefree Mumbai campaign said, "The article from the Baylor College of Medicine published in media looks like a typical, out of context 'cut and paste' report of the original scientific article engineered by the tobacco lobby. Far from improving memory, a more recent publication (August 19, 2009) in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, by Alvaro Alonso, MD, and colleagues from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, reported that current smokers were 70 per cent more likely than those who had never smoked to develop dementia and experience cognitive impairment. It also said that this can be further compounded by the presence of high blood pressure and diabetes. So let's stop getting impressed by baseless articles such as these. They are meant to supplement the ulterior motives of tobacco companies." Dr Shastri is also the head of Preventive Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.