Women who quit smoking by 40 can live an extra decade

The Telegraph

Women who stop smoking by the age of 40 dramatically cut risk of early death, enjoying up to ten more years of life, a major new study has found.

The study of 1.3 million women found that quitting smoking by the age of 30 allowed women to avoid up to 97 per cent of the extra risk of premature death.

The results, which are published in The Lancet medical journal, showed that lifelong smokers died a decade earlier than those who did not smoke at all.

Those who stopped at thirty lost an average of a month of life and if they stopped at 40 they died a year younger.

Most of the increased death rate resulted from smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, chronic lung disease, heart disease or stroke.

The risk rose steeply with the quantity of tobacco smoked, but even light smokers who puffed fewer than 10 cigarettes a day doubled their likelihood of dying.

The authors of the Million Women Study wrote: "Smokers lose at least 10 years of lifespan. Although the hazards of smoking until age 40 years and then stopping are substantial, the hazards of continuing are 10 times greater."

Women aged 50 to 65 were enrolled into the study, designed to investigate links between health and lifestyle, from 1996 to 2001.

Participants completed a questionnaire about living habits, medical and social factors and were re-surveyed three years later. Women were monitored for a total of 12 years on average, during which there were 66,000 deaths.

Initially, 20% of the women were smokers, 28% were ex-smokers, and 52% had never smoked.

Those who still smoked at the three year re-survey were almost three times more likely than non-smokers to die over the next nine years.

Both the hazards of smoking and the benefits of quitting were greater than previous studies had suggested, said the researchers.

Professor Sir Richard Peto, one of the co-authors at Oxford University, said: "If women smoke like men, they die like men - but, whether they are men or women, smokers who stop before reaching middle age will on average gain about an extra 10 years of life."

He added: "Both in the UK and in the USA, women born around 1940 were the first generation in which many smoked substantial numbers of cigarettes throughout adult life.

"Hence, only in the 21st century could we observe directly the full effects of prolonged smoking, and of prolonged cessation, on premature mortality among women."

Professor Rachel Huxley, from the University of Minnesota, said: "In most of Europe and the USA, the popularity of smoking among young women reached its peak in the 1960s, decades later than for men.

"Hence, previous studies have underestimated the full eventual impact of smoking on mortality in women, simply because of the lengthy time lag between smoking uptake by young women and disease onset in middle and old age."

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Plan Now to Quit Smoking for New Year’s

Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths, each year, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers. The leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, including emphysema, is tobacco smoking. COPD is projected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020 due to an increase in smoking rates and demographic changes in many countries. As of 2005, the most common reason for lung transplantation in the United States was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, including emphysema.


Success Comes After Making a Plan, Receiving Support from Loved Ones

By Leslie White HealthCanal.com

If you’re a smoker who’s considering quitting as part of your new year’s resolutions, you may want to start creating your plan for success.

“Research shows that if a person makes a plan, builds a support system of family, friends and professionals, that they have a greater chance of successfully quitting smoking and beating nicotine addiction,” said Scott McIntosh, Ph.D., director of the Greater Rochester Area Tobacco Cessation Center and associate director of the Smoking Research Program at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “Quitting smoking is the best decision anyone can make to improve their overall health.”

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization reported that smoking contributes to the deaths of 5 million people each year.

Twelve simple tips for quitting:

1. Make a plan for quitting. Talk to your doctor about strategies such as cold turkey versus nicotine replacement therapies.


2. If you can give up cigarettes for 24 hours, you double your chance for success.


3. Tell your friends, family and co-workers that you plan to quit and rally them to help you stick with it.


4. Consider using nicotine replacements – gum, patch or Zyban – to help you quit.


5. Use resources available from the *New York State Smokers’ Quitline: 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) and www.nysmokefree.com the New York Smokers’ Quitsite.


6. Avoid risky situations or behaviors that were comfortable when smoking.


7. Remove all ashtrays, lighters, matches and cigarettes from the house. Just seeing them can make you want to smoke.


8. Start eating sugarless hard candy or chewing crunchy vegetables – like carrot sticks – to keep your mouth busy. Consider using cinnamon candy, because its “burning” sensation mimics the feeling of smoking and kills the craving.


9. Drink a lot of water. It helps keep you feeling “full,” and prevents you from overeating and gaining weight. It also helps “cleanse” your body of the toxins from years of smoking.


10. Practice breathing deeply or take a walk when you’re craving a cigarette. Smoking involves taking long deep breaths, but now it’ll be fresh air rather than chemicals entering your lungs.


11. Remind yourself why you are quitting - and reward yourself every day you make it without smoking cigarettes.


12. Age doesn’t matter - older smokers are less likely to try to quit, but when they do try, they are more likely to succeed.

Help with quitting

*For the UK and North America click on the link for a list of major English-speaking charities, helplines and organizations for people who want to give up smoking and need further help or advice. helpwithsmoking.com

Smoking bans in public places

Breathing in second-hand smoke can be a big detriment to those trying to quit smoking. To help you avoid exposure here is list of smoke-free US States and Canadian Provinces as well as efforts around the world to ban smoking.

Canada: Canadian anti-smoking bans

United States: US anti-smoking bans

Global anti-smoking efforts