A new study by researchers at University College London has revealed that smokers lose an average of 20 minutes of life with every cigarette they smoke, according to The Guardian. The finding suggests that smoking's impact on life expectancy is more severe than previously thought.
The study, commissioned by the British Department of Health, is based on the latest data from long-term studies, including the British Doctors Study and the Million Women Study. The researchers concluded that "on average, one cigarette reduces a smoker's life by about 20 minutes."
"People generally know that smoking is harmful but tend to underestimate just how much," said Dr. Sarah Jackson, a principal research fellow at University College London's alcohol and tobacco research group, according to The Guardian. "On average, smokers who don't quit lose around a decade of life. That's 10 years of precious time, life moments, and milestones with loved ones."
The new assessment indicates that the life-shortening effect of each cigarette is nearly double previous estimates. A previous assessment published in the British Medical Journal in 2000 found that on average, one cigarette reduces life expectancy by about 11 minutes, according to Sky News.
"The sooner smokers get off this escalator of death the longer and healthier they can expect their lives to be," the authors of the study said, according to The Guardian.
"Smoking primarily 'eats away' relatively healthy years in midlife, bringing the onset of poor health closer, meaning a 60-year-old smoker will typically have the health profile of a 70-year-old non-smoker," Jackson explained.
In practical terms, the study suggests that if a smoker who smokes 10 cigarettes daily quits on January 1st, they can prevent losing a full day of life by January 8th, according to Sky News. By February 5th, the same smoker can increase their average life expectancy by a week, and by August 5th, they can increase their life expectancy by a whole month.
Moreover, the study found that a pack of 20 cigarettes can shorten a person's life by nearly seven hours, Sky News reported. By the end of the year, a smoker who quits could avoid losing 50 days of life, according to the assessment by University College London.
"Every cigarette smoked costs precious minutes of life, and the cumulative impact is devastating, not only for individuals but also for our healthcare system and economy," said Professor Sanjay Agrawal, a special adviser on tobacco at the Royal College of Physicians, according to The Guardian. "This research is a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address cigarette smoking as the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the UK."
Smoking is one of the world's leading preventable causes of disease and death, killing up to two-thirds of long-term users.
Despite some smokers living long lives, others develop smoking-related diseases and even die from them in their 40s. The variation in life expectancy among smokers is driven by differences in smoking habits such as the type of cigarette used, the number of puffs taken, and how deeply smokers inhale. Additionally, people differ in how susceptible they are to the toxic substances in cigarette smoke.
Previous work has shown there is no safe level of smoking. The risk of heart disease and stroke is only about 50% lower for people who smoke one cigarette a day compared with those who smoke 20 a day.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq