HEALTH
Wellness
Cigarettes might just change a teen's brain
A recent study compared the difference in the brain structure between light smokers and heavy smokers. All of the smokers had started when they were around 15 years old. Those who smoked more cigarettes per day had thinner insula, which is the part of the brain involved in decision making, Reuters reports.
Scientists involved in the study have concluded that starting smoking in your teens, when your brain is still developing, can promote dependence on tobacco products later in life. These brain changes may contribute to that.
One thing to note: The study did not have a control group of nonsmokers, so the scientists cannot definitively say that smoking caused the changes. More research must be done to say that smoking definitively causes changes in the prefrontal cortex in teenagers.
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