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Better stop smoking later than never
On average, smokers die of cardiovascular disease five and a half years earlier than people who have not smoked all their lives. This was the result of an investigation by researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. For their study, they analyzed the data of 500,000 people from Europe and the US, who were 60 years or older. As it turned out, people in this age group also benefit from stopping smoking. Ex smokers die on average two years later as smokers.
The more cigarettes the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease
As the researchers in the journal "British Medical Journal" report, reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke within a few years, people who have smoked their last cigarette still with over 60 years.
The DKFZ researchers found that smokers die on average five and a half years earlier from cardiovascular disease than lifelong nonsmokers. Former smokers die just two years earlier. The more cigarettes a smoker consumed, the greater his risk for cardiovascular disease.
"Already in the first five years after the last cigarette, the risk decreases measurably. Even people who manage to give up smoking only after their 60th birthday still benefit from reduced risks for cardiovascular disease, "the DKFZ says. "However, the longer the cessation of smoking lasts, the more the risk of ex-smokers from dying from a heart attack or stroke decreases significantly."
"So it's never too late to quit smoking. Even people in the highest age group still benefit greatly from their health, "reports study leader Prof. Hermann Brenner. "Many heart attacks and strokes with all their serious consequences could thus be prevented."
So far, the effects of smoking cessation on elders have rarely been studied. For the first time, the study by the DKFZ shows that it has a positive effect on health if the last cigarette is smoked at an advanced age.
Anyone who stops smoking before the age of 40 lives ten years longer
For younger people, however, already prove some study the positive effect of smoking cessation. In 2012, a research team that evaluated the data of more than one million women came to the conclusion in 2012 that those who manage to give up smoking before the age of 40 live on average ten years longer. The women had an even longer life expectancy, who refrained from smoking before their 30th birthday.
Another study in 2013 looked at the evolution of the death toll of Americans smoking. Here a similar picture emerged: those who stopped smoking between their 25th and 34th birthday lived on average ten years longer. Anyone who managed to quit smoking until his 44th birthday lived nine years longer. For those aged up to 54, it was still six years more compared to permanent smokers. (Ag)
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