Till date you must have only been aware of the ill-effects of smoking and diseases related to it. However, smoking is not all that bad.
While the fact that smoking is harmful for health cannot be ignored, a latest medical observation has brought to light the positive effect of smoking on a rare skull tumour, acoustic neuroma.
Reportedly, smoking inhibits the growth and multiplication of the tumour cells in the skull. Sadie Palmisano, a doctoral student in epidemiology at Ohio State University and lead author of the study stated: “We see this effect with current smokers but don’t see it with current snuff users, so we think that maybe the protective effect has something to do with the combustion process or one of the other chemicals in cigarettes that are not in snuff.”
The study also revealed that non-smokers are at a greater risk of suffering from this tumour.
Though it has been found that smokers are at a reduced risk of suffering from acoustic neuroma, the research doesn’t encourage smoking. The study doesn’t suggest that one should take up smoking or smokers should not try to kick the butt to keep this disease at bay.
According to an analysis, nearly 100,000 people develop this tumour every year. There are two methods of treating this tumour. Apparently, the tumour cell can either be surgically removed or can be treated using high-powered radiation.