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Hot topic - Smoking cuts life by 10 years24 June 2004 - written by Bupa's Health Information Team Smoking cuts life expectancy by 10 years, reveal the results of a 50-year study. But the good news is that giving up at any age will add years to a person's life. The BMJ study, published by Sir Richard Doll, comes exactly 50 years after his original paper proving the link between smoking and lung cancer. Below we look at the issue in more depth. What are the risks of smoking?The study reveals that, on average, smokers die 10 years younger than non-smokers. Why does smoking cut life-expectancy?Over 20 diseases are caused or aggravated by smoking.1 See table for at bottom of page for full list. Cancer is the most common cause of smoking-related deaths in the UK. Around 88% of deaths from lung cancer result from smoking.1 Another big killer is coronary heart disease. One in eight deaths caused by cardiovascular disease is due to smoking - in the year 2000 that was 30,600 people.1 What are the chances of dying from smoking?At least half of smokers are eventually killed by the habit.3 And for one group of men, born in the 1920s, the odds were even worse - about two thirds of them died as a result of smoking. The researchers suggest this is because this generation of men fought in the British army from 1939 onwards, during the second world war. At the time, when the risks of smoking were unknown, the armed forces provided low cost cigarettes to conscripts. This established a heavy smoking habit and strong addiction in many men while they were young. What happens if you give up smoking?Men who kicked the habit before the age of 30 increased their life expectancy by 10 years, ie they lived as long as if they had never smoked. The chances of developing one of the life-threatening disease associated with smoking are reduced. For more information on the benefits of quitting, see our stopping smoking information: www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/asp/healthy_living/lifestyle/smoking/why/stop.asp Are there benefits to giving up at a later age?Yes. The study showed there are benefits to giving up smoking at any age.
What are the ways of giving up?More than 11 million people in Britain have given up smoking.1 Although kicking the habit is not easy, the good news is there is plenty of help available. Methods to quit include nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such as nicotine patches and gum, which can double the chance of giving up successfully. Check out our stopping smoking information for information on how to kick the habit: www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/asp/healthy_living/lifestyle/smoking/ What support is available to help me give up smoking?There are helplines and websites available offering advice and practical help with quitting on your own. If you want more support, your GP may be able to refer you to a local smoking cessation clinic. Helplines:
Websites:
How was the 50-year study carried out?Launched in 1951, the study was designed to follow the smoking habits and causes of death in 34,439 male doctors.3 When they signed up for the study, the participants were aged from 21 years and smoked an average of 18 cigarettes a day. They filled in questionnaires about their smoking habits and health, and have been followed for 50 years. The study continued for much longer than originally anticipated because the results proved so valuable. The final questionnaire went out in 2001, but the study has now ended because there are only 5,900 men left in the group, 134 of whom are still smokers. The study was published in the British Medical Journal: Doll R, Peto R, Boreham J, Sutherland I. Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors. BMJ 2004; 328: 1519.
Further informationBupa resources:
External resources:
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