A groundbreaking study has unveiled the stark reality of smoking: every cigarette smoked reduces a person’s life by an average of 19.5 minutes. Conducted by University College London, the research highlights the dramatic impact of smoking on lifespan and underscores the benefits of quitting at any age.
The findings reveal that women lose approximately 22 minutes and men 17 minutes of life for every cigarette smoked. Smoking a pack of 20 cigarettes can shave off nearly 7 hours of life, and even smoking one cigarette a day for 10 years can shorten life by 43 days for men and 56 days for women.
Commissioned by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, the study paints a bleaker picture than previous estimates, which suggested each cigarette reduced lifespan by 11 minutes.
Quitting, however, offers hope. “The evidence suggests people lose, on average, around 20 minutes of life for each cigarette they smoke. The sooner a person stops smoking, the longer they live,” said Sarah Jackson, Principal Research Fellow at UCL’s Alcohol and Tobacco Research Group. She emphasized that the health benefits of quitting begin almost immediately.
Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne urged smokers to take action: “Smoking is an expensive and deadly habit. These findings highlight how important it is to quit.”
The study, soon to be published in the Journal of Addiction, also noted that smoking not only shortens life but reduces the number of healthy years lived. With links to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), smoking impacts both longevity and quality of life.
“It’s never too late to make a positive change,” Dr. Sarah Jarvis added, pointing out the wide range of effective tools available to help smokers quit.