Smokers Shorten Life by 20 Minutes per Cigarette
"If a smoker quits on New Year's Day, they can already save a whole week of their life by February 20," according to a statement from the Health Department in London, which commissioned the study. By the end of the year, the number of saved life days amounts to 50.
Data from Long-Term Studies Likely Also Apply to Smokers in Other Countries
The information is based on a new evaluation of two long-term studies from the UK. The research team took into account more recent data, a longer observation period, and more factors than a previous estimate from 2000. At that time, the lost lifetime due to a cigarette was estimated at eleven minutes. However, this was based on the assumption that smokers who do not quit lose an average of 6.5 years of their life expectancy. Now, ten years for men and eleven years for women are assumed.
"These are British data, but it can be assumed that they also apply to other Western countries," said the head of the Cancer Prevention Department at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. The statement is part of a campaign by the British government to encourage people to quit. One of the study authors stated that he works, among other things, for a company that develops tobacco substitute products. The work of Sarah Jackson's team is published in the journal "Addiction".
British Government Plans to Gradually Ban Tobacco Purchase
Harm Wienbergen from the Bremen Institute for Heart and Circulatory Research considers the estimate to be plausible, but pointed out that there are large individual differences in how harmful a cigarette is. "An important point is certainly the age at which one starts smoking." The government in London plans to gradually completely ban the purchase of tobacco. A corresponding law, which is supposed to gradually raise the minimum age, is currently in the legislative process in the House of Commons. It stipulates that people born after January 1, 2009, will never be able to legally purchase tobacco products. According to the government, smoking is the most common preventable cause of death in the United Kingdom with 80,000 deaths annually and is responsible for a quarter of all cancer cases.
(APA/Red)
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