It is Never Too Late to Stop Smoking

Almost a year ago, I wrote and spoke about why it is better to not start smoking in the first place, than to try to stop after having started.  Not smoking is an important part of our atmasvasth quest to live long, healthy. Those who smoke have a 3 times increased risk of dying compared to non-smokers and hence live shorter lives with reduced healthspans, often filled with misery and suffering…for them and for those around them.

This week saw the publication of a prospective study by Blake Thomson and colleagues [1], who looked at 5,51,388 people of different ages and ethnicity in the United States and asked them at the time of the questionnaire, whether they were current smokers or not, whether they had smoked earlier and stopped, and if so, the age at which they had stopped smoking. They were followed-up for mortality from cancers, cardiovascular diseases and lower respiratory tract infections.

Ever-smokers, i.e. those who were smoking at the time of the questionnaire had a 2.7 times increased risk of death, reiterating the 3 times increased mortality risk that other similar studies have shown in the past [2].

The authors also looked at the outcomes for those who had stopped smoking at different ages. Compared to those who had never smoked, smokers who quit smoking before the age of 45 reduced their risk by 90%, while those who quit between the ages of 45 and 64 had a 66% mortality reduction.

In effect, while not-smoking remains the best option in our atmasvasth quest to live long healthy, if you do land up becoming a smoker, it is never too late to stop. Even if you stop after the age of 50, you will still have a reasonably long healthspan and lifespan with a better quality of life, compared to those who continue to smoke.

Footnotes

1. Thomson B et al. Association Between Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Mortality by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex Among US Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Oct 3;5(10):e2231480.

2. Jha P. The hazards of smoking and the benefits of cessation: a critical summation of the epidemiological evidence in high-income countries. Elife. 2020 Mar 24;9:e49979.