Anyone who quits smoking, at any age, has almost the same life expectancy after just a few years as people who have never smoked. Plus, it’s never too late to stop smoking.
A new observational study involving experts from the Arctic University of Norway (UiT) compared survival differences in people aged 20 to 79 who either smoked, had never smoked or had quit smoking. The results were published in the journal “NEJM Evidence”.
Significantly increased risk of death
The total of 1.48 million participants came from the four countries USA, Great Britain, Canada and Norway and were medically monitored over a period of 15 years.
The team found that smoking participants between the ages of 40 and 79 had almost three times the risk of death than those who had never smoked in their lives. This corresponded to an average reduction in life expectancy of twelve to 13 years.
However, if the participants were former smokers, the risk of death was 1.3 times or 30 percent higher than that of non-smoking participants, the researchers explain.
Quitting smoking was associated with longer life expectancy at all ages, even among participants who had quit smoking less than three years ago. According to the team, they benefited from a life expectancy that was up to six years longer.
Overall, the results show that people who stop smoking before the age of 40 achieve almost the same life expectancy as people who have never smoked, the researchers add.
Quitting smoking and then abstaining from smoking for ten years also resulted in life expectancy being similar to that of people who had never smoked. Many of the positive effects on life expectancy occurred after just three years.
Never too late to quit smoking
“Many middle-aged people think that it is too late to stop smoking. But these results disprove this. It is never too late, the effect occurs quickly, and you can reduce the risk of all important diseases, which means a longer and better quality of life,” emphasizes study author Professor Prabhat Jha in a press release.
Those who stop smoking reduce the risk of premature death from vascular diseases and cancer, the team explains. However, the risk of dying from a respiratory disease has only decreased slightly – possibly due to existing lung damage.
Help to quit smoking
“Helping smokers quit is one of the most effective ways to significantly improve health. And we know how to do that by increasing taxes on cigarettes and improving cessation support,” adds Professor Jha.
According to the doctor, the smoking rate in many countries could be reduced through tax increases. Support for smoking cessation could include clinical guidelines and patient resources such as counseling centers, but also a holistic health system approach. (as)
