Ditch that cigarette and you'll live longer: new study highlights the benefits of quitting smoking

Smoking has long been associated with many health risks. Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Next time you feel like smoking, consider this fact before you take a drag. One cigarette can steal 20 minutes of your life. And the life you have left may be less healthy than it would have been if you hadn't smoked. Researchers at University College London This indicator has been reached The study is based on data on mortality rates for men and women in the UK and a follow-up of an older study from 2000. Of course, there are many caveats to this, including the type of cigarette smoked, personal susceptibility, and age of onset, the researchers said. Note.

Smoking has long been associated with many health risks. In fact, as of 2021, smoking is a common risk factor for five of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, these include ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lower respiratory tract infections, and tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer. Nevertheless, according to the National Family Health Survey-5, 38% of men and almost 9% of women above 15 years of age in India used tobacco. The WHO estimates that tobacco is one of the leading causes of death and disease in India, killing more than 1 million people each year.

What does smoking do to your body?

If you think the occasional cigarette is harmless and only chain smokers cause health problems, think again. According to the WHO, smoked tobacco products contain more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 250 of which are known to be toxic or carcinogenic. Although it may start out as minor symptoms such as dry mouth, increased blood pressure, and decreased sense of smell, smoking can affect almost every part of your body. Apart from known cancers and non-communicable diseases, it can also cause damage to the skin, hearing and vision. Loss affects fertility and causes erectile dysfunction.

According to RP Ilangho, a Chennai-based pulmonologist, smoking increases the chance of developing lung cancer by 20 times and also increases the risk of developing COPD. And once you have COPD, there is no cure, he points out.

Arvind Krishnamurthy, professor and head of surgical oncology at the Adilal Cancer Institute, said smokers are known to have a worse prognosis for cancer for a variety of reasons. “Smokers typically have other comorbidities, which can also compromise their ability to tolerate treatment or complete their planned treatment,” he says. According to Dr. Krishnamurthy, lung cancer is the number one cancer in Indian men in terms of both morbidity and mortality. Importantly, he says, even exposure to smoke in a closed environment (and not just smoking itself) is associated with cancer.

UCL researchers say research suggests that smokers typically lose about the same number of years of health as their total lifespan. “Thus, rather than shortening the period at the end of life characterized by chronic disease and disability, smoking primarily erodes relatively healthy middle age. Therefore, smokers at age 60 typically , would have the health conditions of a 70-year-old non-smoker,” they said.

What happens when it stops?

Doctors say the effects are immediate. “The moment you stop, your body starts to get better,” says Dr. Iranjo. He says that if the damage done is not irreversible, the body will heal. Dr. Krishnamurthy added that visible effects begin to appear within 20 minutes of stopping. “Blood pressure decreases and the sense of taste and smell begins to return. But it takes about 10 to 13 years for a smoker to approach the level of a non-smoker,” he says.

The WHO says the risk of heart attack begins to decrease within two weeks to three months. Lung function begins to improve. After 1 year: The additional risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker. After 10 years: The mortality rate from lung cancer will be about half that of smokers. Reduces risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas.

The UCL researchers said: “If a person who smokes 10 cigarettes a day quits smoking on January 1, 2025, one full day of life expectancy will be lost by January 8, and one week of life expectancy will be lost by February 20. ”, for one month until August 5th. By the end of the year, they may have survived 50 days. ”

indian law

Smoking in public places has been banned in India since 2008. But implementation remains uneven, says Cyril Alexander, state chairman of the People's Forum on Tobacco Control, Tamil Nadu. “It depends on the enforcement of the law, and it varies from state to state. For example, in Tennessee, public smoking has increased due to a lack of enforcement,” he says. Alexander pointed to other dangers, including the illegal sale of e-cigarettes, which continues to flourish despite the ban, and the high use of smokeless tobacco.