With each cigarette smoked, men lose on average 17 minutes of life expectancy and women 22 minutes, precious time which highlights the importance of quitting smoking as early as possible.
- Each cigarette smoked reduces life expectancy by 17 minutes in men and 22 minutes in women.
- Among smokers, the number of years of life lost in good health corresponds approximately to the years of life not lived.
- In 2022, there were nearly 12 million daily smokers in France.
The figures are frightening: on average, a single cigarette causes the person who smokes it to lose 20 minutes of life. This figure is taken from a new study, published in the journal Journal of Addiction. For a pack of 20 cigarettes, life expectancy is therefore reduced by almost seven hours.
Smokers lose 22 minutes of life with each cigarette
“People generally know that smoking is harmful, but they tend to underestimate its extent, explains Sarah Jackson, one of the lead authors of the study, at Guardian. On average, smokers who don’t quit lose about ten years of their life. That’s ten years of precious time and moments spent with their loved ones.” In detail, scientists estimate that each cigarette smoked reduces life expectancy by 17 minutes in men and 22 minutes in women.
In their study, the authors emphasize that among smokers, the number of years of life lost in good health corresponds significantly to the years of life not lived. “Some people might think [que ça ne les dérange pas] to lose a few years of life, given that old age is often marked by a chronic illness or disability, underlines Sarah Jackson. But smoking doesn’t just shorten the end of life [en mauvaise santé]. (…) A 60-year-old smoker will generally have the health profile of a 70-year-old non-smoker.”
After a year without cigarettes, 50 days of life gained
According to researchers’ calculations, a person who smokes 10 cigarettes a day and decides to stop on January 1 could avoid losing:
- A whole day of life between now and January 8
- One week until February 20
- One month until August 5
- Fifty days until the end of the year,
Motivating figures for those who want to put an end to this addiction in the new year. “Quitting smoking at any age is beneficial, but the sooner smokers move away from this escalator of death, the longer and healthier they can expect to live.”, underline the authors of the study.
According to the Ministry of Healtheven today, tobacco remains the leading cause of avoidable mortality, cancer mortality and mortality before age 65. It is responsible for nearly one in eight deaths in France. In 2022, there were nearly 12 million daily smokers in the country, according to Public health France. Among them, 6 out of 10 want to quit smoking.
