Every year, almost 8 million people die because of smoking. On average, the Indian smokes 5-6 cigarettes every day. But recently, it has been seen that there was an unexpected truth behind this destructive habit. Researchers have discovered that a cigarette kills 20 minutes of one’s life.
Women are lose an average of 22 minutes each cigarette according to a new study conducted by researchers at University College London (UCL), whereas males lose an average of 17 minutes.
Initial estimates suggested that the loss was around 11 minutes per cigarette, but a new study using long-term population health data found that smoking reduces life expectancy by an average of 10 minutes each cigarette for both sexes.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care conducted its research based on the fact that smoking-related damage is reversible, and the quicker someone quits smoking, the greater the chances to live a longer, healthier life.
The author writes: “If someone who smokes ten cigarettes a day quits smoking on January 1, 2025, they’d have saved the equivalent of one whole day of life by January 8, one week of life by February 20, and one month of life by August 5. By the New Year, they’d saved 50 days of their life.”
Dr Sarah Jackson, Principal Research Fellow at the UCL Alcohol and Tobacco Research Group, stated that “the sooner someone quits smoking, the longer they live.” Quitting smoking at any age offers significant health benefits, which appear practically immediately.”
This also indicates that though smoking might abbreviate life in chronic conditions, it impacts the relatively healthy middle years. Indeed, a smoker’s health profile at age 60 is very much like that of a nonsmoker at age 70.
