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Have A Smoke, Lose 11 Minutes of Life

Study quantifies effect of smoking on life span

By Jeff Kelliher
HealthSCOUT Reporter

http://www.lifeclinic.com/healthnews/article_view.asp?story=89229

THURSDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthSCOUT) -- With the concept of time on many people's minds at the dawn of a new millennium, a small team of British researchers has given smokers a new way to look at the impact of cigarettes on life expectancy.

Scientists at the University of Bristol calculate that 11 minutes of life expectancy go up in smoke each time you light a cigarette. They say they hope these numbers will help spur tobacco smokers to join the ranks of their matchless peers.

What might this mean for someone who smokes a pack of cigarettes in one day? Deduct 3 hours and 40 minutes from your life span. Seven packs in a week? Say goodbye to more than an entire 24-hour day.

The new figures are estimates drawn from a separate 1994 study comparing the death rates of 34,000 male doctors over the age of 40. The calculations are based on averages for life expectancy, starting age of smoking, and number of cigarettes smoked per year.

In all, the men in the study who smoked had their lives shortened by 6.5 years compared with their nonsmoking counterparts. The findings were published in the Jan. 1 issue of the British Medical Journal .

Does knowing this kind of information help people become nonsmokers? "It does to some extent," says Ron Todd of the American Cancer Society. "Understanding more completely the impact of smoking on a person's health will motivate some people to quit."

But other people tend to turn a blind eye to this kind of information. "These are the ones who tend to group the risks of smoking with things like getting hit by a car or struck by lightning," says Todd. "But the risks from smoking are far greater than from those things."

Quitters definitely win

"The British article really just shows some averages," says Todd. "But in reality it's not that simple -- it's not like every person who smokes will lose 11 minutes with every cigarette."

"This kind of information just makes the health risks of smoking a little more relative for people," claims Todd. And he cautions that the minutes of life lost to smoking aren't necessarily returned to you once you quit.

But Todd agrees with most experts that smoking generally shortens life expectancy and that quitting can increase your chances of living longer. "If people stop smoking, their life expectancy may be extended," he says. "That's because much of the damage from smoking can be reversed .

"The body begins to repair itself from the minute you quit smoking," says Todd. "It cuts your risk of heart disease in half in just a few years -- and your risk for certain types of cancer are greatly reduced."

Todd is quick to add, however, that stopping smoking won't cure you if you already have a disease such as cancer or emphysema.

Lots of us are inspired by the New Year to make lifestyle changes that will improve our health. Quitting smoking is one of the best choices you can make.

"There are tremendous benefits to stopping smoking, and those benefits begin from the moment you quit," says Todd.

"Motivation has to come from the individual," says Todd. "It takes commitment, confidence, and preparation to become successful." It also takes time -- something you may have lots more of once you kick the habit.