Get a load of this:

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Less Parkinson’s Disease

Cigarette smoking and other tobacco use appear to protect against Parkinson’s disease, according to a pooled analysis.

The Parkinson’s data stand in stark contrast to all of tobacco’s baleful effects on the body, reported Beate Ritz, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Public Health, and co-authors.

Data gathered in large cohort studies suggested that current smokers had a 77% lower risk for Parkinson’s disease compared with never smokers, the investigators wrote in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology.

The protective effect of smoking increased with pack-years smoked, and decreased with years since quitting.

“Recent studies also suggested that Parkinson’s disease risk is particularly low in active smokers with a long history of intense smoking; some even suggested dose-related risk reductions with increasing pack-years of smoking,” they wrote. “This prompted speculation as to whether and how these observations might inform Parkinson’s disease treatment and prevention.”

The moral? Get your kids started smoking early, and often. If only they could lick the whole Lung Cancer, Emphysema, and Heart disease thing, I’d be a 4 pack a day smoker. HEAR THAT BIG TOBACCO! GET CRACKING!