Smokers: It’s Never Too Late to Quit or Switch to Smoke-Free

A new study from researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging finds that even smokers in their 60s who quit can reduce their chances of dying early. 

In 1995, 160,000 people age 50-71 years were enrolled in the study; data on their smoking and quitting was collected in 2004-2005.  Researchers documented causes of death and calculated rates through 2011 among never, current and former smokers, with adjustment for other risk factors.  The study appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (abstract here).

Current smokers were three times as likely to die during the study as never smokers.  Compared with current smokers, former smokers had significantly lower death rates; the magnitude of the reduction correlated with the age when they quit.  For example, smokers who quit in their 30s had a death rate that was 57% lower, while those who quit in their 50s had a 36% lower rate.  Even smokers who quit in their 60s had a 23% lower rate.

This study should give hope to smokers of all ages, but this is not new information.  In 1996, Dr. Philip Cole and I published similar research in the journal Epidemiology (here).  We estimated how long never and current smokers of various ages would live on average.  In addition, we estimated remaining years for quitters and switchers.  Here are our results: 

Average Years of Life Remaining According to Tobacco Use and Age
Sex and Age (years)	Never Smoker	Continuing Smoker	Quitter	Switcher
Men
40	42	34	41	41
50	32	25	30	30
60	23	17	18	18
Women
40	44	40	44	44
50	35	31	35	35
60	26	22	24	24

The good news: No matter what age, smokers can improve their life expectancy if they quit or switch.  It’s never too late to move to a smoke-free substitute.

Good News You Never Knew About Life Expectancy in the U.S.

The National Center for Health Statistics in May released final data on life expectancy and deaths in the U.S. for the year 2007 (read it here). It is an extraordinary report, because it further documents that Americans continue to live longer and healthier lives, year after year.

Compared with 2006, the age-adjusted death rate from all causes declined 2.1% in 2007. This is an extraordinary single-year decline, and it was driven by impressive reductions in five of the top 10 causes of death, as noted in the table.







Top Ten Causes of Death, and Percentage Change from 2006 to 2007

Cause of Death	Percent Change From 2006
1. Heart Diseases	- 4.6
2. Cancer	- 1.3
3. Stroke	- 3.2
4. Respiratory Diseases	+ 0.7
5. Accidents	+ 0.5
6. Alzheimer’s Disease	+ 0.4
7. Diabetes	- 3.4
8. Influenza/pneumonia	- 9.0
9. Kidney Diseases	None
10. Blood Infection	None

Heart disease, accounting for about one-quarter of all American deaths, declined almost 5% in 2007, and stroke deaths dropped by over 3%. Deaths from cancer were down over 1%, and there were impressive declines for diabetes (-3.4%) and influenza/pneumonia (-9%). These aren’t just one-year wonders; declines have been occurring for 20 to 30 years.

Chances are that you knew nothing about these incredible statistics. That’s because the federal government and most health organizations cast every health issue as a crisis. They argue that Americans are in poor health and are being killed by obesity, as well as chemicals in our food and in our environment. They portray our health care system as ineffective. They don’t want you to know the truth: death rates for most major diseases continue to plummet.

The long-term decline in smoking is playing a role, especially in the impressive reductions in heart disease, cancer and stroke rates. But many Americans are also eating healthier foods, and using preventive medications like aspirin and statins (that lower cholesterol levels) to reduce risks. And the health care system is providing ever-improved treatments.

I offer the following example to illustrate that the decline in American death rates over the past couple decades is truly astounding: let’s compare 2007 with 1987. In 2007, the nation’s age-adjusted death rate for all causes was 760 deaths per 100,000, and a total of 2,423,712 Americans died. Just twenty years earlier, the age-adjusted death rate was 970, about 28% higher than 2007 but still far lower than in previous decades. If the 1987 rate had been effective in 2007, there would have been 669,000 more deaths!

The average life expectancy at birth for the U.S. population in 2007 was the highest in history at 77.9 years, an increase of 0.2 year over the 2006 number. In other words, every American gained almost 2½ months of life expectancy in just one year! This is irrefutable evidence that our health and social system, despite its limitations, has sustained remarkable advances in the prevention and treatment of most life-threatening diseases, extending and improving the lives of millions of Americans.