A new report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that those who have quit smoking will live longer than those who haven’t regardless of how old they are. Even those who have had a lifelong smoking habit could increase the length of time they live by quitting. The study was carried out using data from previous studies which took place in 7 different countries around the world and between 1987 and 2011.
The analyses showed that smokers over the age of 60 were 83% more likely to die at any given time than those who never smoked at all. This was still the case, although to a lesser extent, in those over the age of 80 with 59% of those who did not smoke living at the age of 80 and only 26% of those who smoked alive at this age.
Older smokers feel like stopping smoking is futile at a certain point in their lives, having done all the damage they are going to do but this study challenges this view and highlights the need for support services and quit smoking campaigns that are geared towards helping the elderly. The study revealed that tobacco was the cause of death in 1 in 2 smokers who were elderly.
It is also thought that those who stop smoking before the age of 40 have the same risk of death as those who never took up the habit. This is very positive news and a great incentive for those who have smoked for so long they think they cannot benefit from stopping now.