For centuries, the use of tobacco and smoking has been part of our culture, and also part of other cultures around the world. Even until the mid-1960s, smoking cigarettes was allowed in almost all public spaces. Includes hospitals, school buildings, bars and restaurants. It wasn’t until the 1970s and 1980s that it became clearer that diseases such as periodontal disease and lung cancer were directly linked to smoking.
And while we know that regular tobacco use is dangerous to our health and the health of those around us, new research suggests it may also be directly linked to shorter lifespans. It turns out that.
A University College London study found that smoking just one cigarette shortens your life by about 20 minutes on average. In other words, if you smoke a pack of 20 cigarettes, you’ll lose nearly 7 hours of your life. Adding 3 more packs will take more than a day.
Most of the data reach the same conclusion. This means that the harm caused by smoking is generally cumulative. Therefore, the sooner you stop smoking regularly, the longer you will live.
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To put it in perspective, the analysis shows that if people who smoke 10 cigarettes a day stopped smoking on January 1, 2025, they could prevent one full day of life lost by January 8. concluded. Smoking for 20 days between January 1st and February 20th could add one week to your life expectancy. If you don’t smoke from January 1st to August 5th, you’ll gain a full week of life back, and if you quit smoking for a year, you’ll gain 50 days of life back.
“Most smokers are aware that smoking can shorten their lifespan, but they are unaware of the impact of each cigarette they smoke,” the study authors said. “The UK has some of the best data available in the world to estimate the average life lost per cigarette, which is about 20 minutes, 17 deaths for men and 22 deaths for women. .”
Apart from obesity, smoking is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 people die from tobacco use each year. This means that more than 480,000 people die each year, including deaths caused by second-hand smoke. Not to mention, tobacco is known to cause heart disease, stroke, lung disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
If you’ve been hesitant to quit smoking, this could be a sign that you need a fresh start in 2025.