Quitting smoking even as late as at 75 years of age can meaningfully increase a person's life expectancy, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine , published by Elsevier. The research measures the impact of smoking on life expectancy at 10-year intervals from 35-75 years of age to determine the potential benefits of smoking cessation. The results show that although the benefits of quitting smoking diminish with age, there are still substantial gains for older individuals.
Thuy T.T. Le, PhD, who conducted the study with co-investigators David Mendez, PhD, and Kenneth E.
Warner, PhD, all affiliated with the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, explains, " We have seen a remarkable decline in young adult smoking over the past decade. However, rates among older adults who smoke have remained stagnant and to our knowledge, no research had established the benefits for them of quitting. We wanted to show that stopping smoking is beneficial at any age and provide an incentive for older people who smoke to quit.
" Cigarette smoke contains thousands of toxic chemicals that harm almost all organs in the body and are linked to numerous cancers, stroke, heart disease, and lung disease. In the United States cigarette smoking has long been the leading cause of premature preventable death, with an estimated 480,000 smoking-related deaths annually. Previous studies have consistently demonstrated that q.
