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Detail of a man holding a smoking cigarette in his hand.
Smoking just one cigarette can reduce life expectancy by around 20 minutes, according to research commissioned by the British government.
By stopping for a week, smokers could theoretically regain a full day of life expectancy, assuming they smoke 10 cigarettes a day. If a smoker quits on January 1 and continues for a year, he has bought back 50 days of life expectancy.
Cigarette smoking has declined dramatically in popularity in the US in recent decades, especially among young people. But 11.6% of the country’s adults still smoke, as do 3.8% of American youth, according to the American Lung Association.
Stop smoking cigarettes this New Year, scientists say
The study’s researchers urged the public to consider quitting smoking, a leading cause of preventable deaths, as a New Year’s resolution for 2025. The habit is linked to a host of serious health problems, from high blood pressure and heart disease to lung disease . cancer, respiratory problems and stroke.
Cigarette smoking is still thought to kill people hundreds of thousands of Americans per year. It is believed that approximately 16 million people in the US have at least one disease caused by smoking.
“It is vital that people understand how harmful smoking is and how much quitting smoking can improve their health and life expectancy,” Sarah Jackson, lead researcher at University College London’s Alcohol and Tobacco Research Group, said in a statement. “The sooner a person stops smoking, the longer he or she lives. Quitting at any age significantly improves health and the benefits begin almost immediately.”
British TV NHS doctor Sarah Jarvis, who was not involved in the research, added: “As a GP, I see first-hand the devastating effects smoking can have on health.”
In addition to shortening lifespan, the habit also worsens quality of life. “Each cigarette… also significantly increases the risk of many health problems, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”
Studying the impact of each cigarette
Jackson and other UCL scientists used data from two decades-long British population studies to develop their findings: the British Doctors Study and the Million Women Study.
The Doctors Study has tracked the impact of cigarette smoking on thousands of doctors since its launch in 1951. The Million Women Study has tracked a range of health outcomes for 1.3 million British women recruited in Britain between 1996 and 2001.
Based on the collected data, they calculated the average impact of smoking per cigarette.
‘Minute lifespan’ is a relatively crude measure that does not take into account the cumulative effect of smoking over time. Nevertheless, the results are still a stark reminder of the serious impact of smoking on many areas of health.
The research even shows that the impact on life expectancy is much stronger than previous research. A 2000 study published in the British medical journal each found cigarette took an average of 11 minutes of a person’s life expectancy.
How to Stop Smoking Cigarettes
Jackson said there was a range of resources available to help smokers reduce and ultimately quit smoking. In Britain, where the study took place, public health services offer special ‘smoking cessation’ services and supply nicotine replacement products.
In the US, resources including counseling and advice via phone, text and online are available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nicotine replacement products such as gum, lozenges and patches are available without a prescription, while inhalers and nasal sprays can be prescribed. These contain nicotine to ease withdrawal symptoms and help smokers quit smoking, which is much more dangerous.