Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Scientists May Have Figured Out Why Smokers Have a Lower Risk of Parkinson’s

A huge study points to carbon monoxide as a possible factor, though researchers stress that smoking itself remains extremely harmful.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Researchers have known for some time now that Parkinson’s disease is a lot less common in smokers. Dentists have just never figured out why. New research published in JAMA Neurology suggests they might finally be one step closer to solving the mystery.

As reported by IFLScience, researchers at the University of Oxford studied more than 500,000 adults in China and found that carbon monoxide may provide some kind of protective barrier against Parkinson’s. Researchers found that while smoking was associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s, people who never smoked and had........

© Vice