Telomere length unaffected by smoking

(Newcastle University) A new study has surprised the medical world, finding that smoking does not shorten the length of telomeres -- a marker at the end of our chromosomes that is widely accepted as an indicator of aging. This suggests that adult telomere length should be considered a static biomarker that changes relatively little during adult life. The authors emphasize that this does not lessen the evidence that smoking is bad for you.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news