Research: Anyone who quits before the age of 35 is as if they never smoked

People who quit smoking at a young age have a much lower risk of death than smokers. Someone who quits smoking by the age of 35 has a similar mortality rate to someone who has never smoked in their life, a major US-UK scientific study shows. This is the third study that concludes that up to 35 is the ideal age to quit smoking.

But even those who quit smoking at an older age still have a significant benefit, although their premature mortality is higher than those who quit early. However, the longer it has been since someone quit smoking, the closer their risk of premature death approaches that of a never smoker.

Thus, someone who quits between the ages of 45 and 44 has an average 21% higher chance of dying prematurely than a never-smoker, while someone who quits between 45 and 54 has a 47% higher risk.

The researchers from the American Cancer Society and the British University of Oxford, who made the relevant publication in the American medical journal "JAMA Network Open", analyzed data on approximately 551.000 people aged 25 to 84 (smokers, former smokers and never smokers), from of whom nearly 75.000 had died.

Relative to never smokers, current smokers were found to have a significantly increased likelihood of death from any cause, as well as from specific causes (cancer, heart disease, and lung disease), which was true for both men and women.

Source: ΑΠΕ- ΜΠΕ