A new study in the UK has found that each cigarette smoked may shorten a person’s life by approximately 20 minutes.
The research, commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care in Britain, used data from long-term studies to calculate the impact of smoking on life expectancy.
According to the study, men lose an average of 17 minutes of life per cigarette, while women lose 22 minutes.
“Tobacco smoking is one of the largest preventable causes of disease, disability, and premature death globally,” the researchers state.
They emphasized the importance of conveying such risks in a way that resonates with smokers.
The study draws on data from two major studies: the British Doctors Study and the Million Women Study. The studies found that smokers who didn’t quit lost about 10 to 11 years of life expectancy compared to non-smokers after adjusting for factors like socioeconomic position.
According to the study, the average daily cigarette consumption estimates have decreased from 15.8 to 11.5 per day for men and from 13.6 to 9.5 per day for women. They said, regardless, the harm per cigarette likely remains similar, as those who smoke less may compensate by smoking each cigarette more intensively.
The study emphasized that the harm from smoking accumulates.
“Epidemiological data indicate that the harm caused by smoking is cumulative and the sooner the person stops, and the more cigarettes they avoid smoking, the longer they live,” the researchers explain.
They provide an example of a person smoking 10 cigarettes daily who quits on Jan. 1, 2025, could prevent losing a full day of life by Jan. 8, a week by Feb. 20, and a month by Aug. 5.
The study also suggests that smokers usually lose the same number of healthy years of one’s life as they do total years of life, so smoking “primarily eats into the relatively healthy middle years rather than shortening the period at the end of life.”
As a result, they said a 60-year-old smoker would typically have the health profile of a 70-year-old non-smoker.
Variations
According to the researchers, such estimations are averages, and individual experiences may vary. “Some smokers live long and healthy lives while others succumb to smoking-related diseases and even death in their 40s,” they caution.
The study also points out that the harm caused by each cigarette is not constant throughout a person’s life. Factors such as when someone began smoking, smoking patterns, and one’s susceptibility to cigarette toxins can influence the impact.
The study’s findings underscore the importance of stopping smoking. As the researchers put it, “Stopping smoking at every age is beneficial but the sooner smokers get off this escalator of death the longer and healthier they can expect their lives to be.”
Smoking results in about 80,000 deaths per year in the UK, according to the British authorities.