Yet another research study has found evidence to support the belief that smoking lowers the risk of developing the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s disease. In this study researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle found that ex-smokers had a 50% reduced risk of the disease, while current smokers were 70% less likely to develop the illness. While the researchers do not recommend smoking for obvious reasons, they hope that their research will help to further sciences understanding of the disease and possibly lead to new methods of treating or even preventing the illness. The researchers also found that people who drank two or more cups of tea or cola each day were less likely to develop Parkinson’s.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2002; 155:732-738
