Women Who Quit Smoking Gain Extra Years of Life - A Woman's ...

It?s never too late to quit.

It?s no secret that smoking can take years off of your life?at least a decade, in fact. Now, new research shows that there is one simple way to change the statistics: quit. If you think it?s too late to make a difference, think again. It turns out that women can significantly reduce their risk of death by quitting smoking?and the earlier, the better.

The risks of smoking are well documented, but until now, we haven?t been able to observe the effects of both prolonged smoking and prolonged cessation in women. Women who were born around 1940 in Western cultures were the first generation to smoke substantial numbers of cigarettes throughout adult life?meaning the popularity of smoking among women reached its peak in the 1960s, much later than it did for men. As such, we haven?t had the long-term data to evaluate the impact of smoking on mortality in women?until now.

Between 1996 and 2001, researchers from the United Kingdom recruited 1.3 million women between the ages of 50 and 65 and followed them until 2011. The participants were surveyed at the beginning of the study and again about three and eight years later. At the beginning of the study, 20 percent of the women were smokers, 28 percent were former smokers, and 52 percent had never smoked.

The researchers found that women who still smoked three years into the study were nearly three times more likely to die in the following nine years than their non-smoking counterparts. Translation?two thirds of all deaths of female smokers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are caused by smoking. The risk of death increased according to the amount smoked, but even the light smokers were at risk?and were twice as likely to die as non-smokers.

Here?s the good news: Women who had stopped smoking prior to age 40 avoided more than 90 percent of the increased risk of death associated with smoking and those who quit before age 30 were even better off?avoiding more than 97 percent of the increased risk.

The bottom line?quitting smoking does make a difference. The earlier the better, but it?s never too late to make positive changes for health. On average, women who quit by age 40 can expect to gain 10 extra years. The researchers concluded that the risks associated with smoking until age 40 and then stopping are substantial?but the risks of continuing are 10 times greater.

The math may be simple, but quitting is another story. If you?re ready to hang up the habit for good, there are a number of smoking cessation programs that can help. Make the commitment to yourself?and you may gain several extra years to enjoy your health.

Reference:

Pirie K, Peto R, Reeves GK, et al. The 21st century hazards of smoking and benefits of stopping: a prospective study of one million women in the UK. The Lancet. Published early online October 27, 2012. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61720-6

Source: http://awomanshealth.com/2013/01/22/women-who-quit-smoking-gain-extra-years-of-life/

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