I agree that short term memory loss being a side effect of heavy use is common knowledge to anyone who is or knows a heavy user. But I think you shouldn't be s

I agree that short term memory loss being a side effect of heavy use is common knowledge to anyone who is or knows a heavy user. But I think you shouldn't be so confident that smoking when young is a huge problem long term. I would have been in the 'heavy user' category by the time I was 17, and I've had the odd experience of persistent short term memory loss (e.g., having multiple people tell me 'you just asked me that' with a bewildered look). I also quit smoking when I was 17, and haven't had any noticable symptoms since I was 20 (> 20 years ago). I doubt if anyone who knows me would say I'm not 'successful.' Not recommending heavy use, to be sure. Just saying that it's not necessarily a permanent, long-term effect.