Middle-aged smokers have worse memories than those who have never touched cigarettes, a study out today suggests.

Experts found that smokers were likely to come in the lowest fifth of people who performed well in tests to check recall.

But they also discovered that people who gave up smoking could cut their chances of suffering memory loss.

This was linked to other factors, with ex-smokers also more likely to cut down their alcohol intake, take more exercise and eat more fruit and vegetables.