According to the study, each cigarette smoked reduces a woman’s life expectancy by an average of 22 minutes, and a man by 17 minutes.
New data from University College London doubles previous estimates, which found that each cigarette reduces a smoker’s life expectancy by 11 minutes. The researchers noted that the harm from smoking is “cumulative” in nature, and the sooner a person quits smoking and the fewer cigarettes he smokes, the longer he will live.
A new analysis shows that if a smoker who smokes 10 cigarettes a day quits on January 1, by January 8 he will have prevented the loss of an entire day of his life. If you stop smoking, for example, before the end of February, you can extend your life by a week, and by a month if you don’t smoke until August.
Researchers say smoking primarily shortens the healthy years of life, not just the last years of life, which are often accompanied by chronic illness or disability.