Hockney: clean teeth and hands mean I can keep puffing smokes
DAVID HOCKNEY has claimed that regularly washing his hands and cleaning his teeth has helped him live to 81, despite being a smoker.
In a letter to the Financial Times, the artist said people were surviving longer now because of improved hygiene practices. “I was told by a doctor
many years ago that what was making people live longer was the washing of hands and the cleaning of teeth,” he wrote. “I instinctively believed this. I am still a smoker at 81 but I wash my hands and clean my teeth regularly.”
The artist has been a vocal supporter of cigarettes, even labelling the smok- ing ban as a “grotesque piece of social engineering”. But although claims that
cleanliness may stave off an early death for smokers seem implausible, recent research backs up his opinion.
In 2016, researchers at Florida Atlantic University found that thoroughly brushing teeth to remove plaque could help prevent heart attacks and strokes by reducing inflammation in the body close to levels achieved through statins.
Smoking causes a build-up of fatty
material which narrows arteries, so correct dental hygiene could, in theory, prevent some cases.
A study this month from Columbia University also found that regular hand washing prevented contact with common flame-retardant chemicals in everyday items which are linked to hormone disruption, decreased fertility, and thyroid dysfunction in humans.