Tobacco has no impact on your health if you stop before age 35, according to a study

Smokers who quit smoking before age 35 have a reasonable chance to live as long and as healthy as people who have never smoked, confirm the authors of a large study published in the journal "Health Services Research. "
According to researchers at the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, smokers are more likely to stop if they knew not only the cigarette reduces life expectancy, but it greatly reduces the quality of their final years life.

In their work, they investigated the effects of smoking on quality of life, or more precisely on years of good quality life among people aged 40 and older, described by a good physical, emotional and social.

They analyzed data from two large U.S. studies, the Health Retirement Study (HRS) attended by 12,652 men and women aged 50 to 60 years, and the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), including 8124 persons at least 70 years.

Every two years, from 1993 to 2000, participants were asked to rate their health (excellent, very good, fair or poor). Former smokers were asked the number of years of abstinence (3 years, between 3 and 15 years, over 15 years).

"Former smokers felt healthier and on average live longer than smokers," says Truls Ostbye, professor of Family and Community Medicine, and lead author of the article. "Smoking is clearly linked with the number of years remaining to be lived and years of healthy life. This is not a surprising result, [...] but a confirmation that smaller studies had suggested. "

Former smokers who had stopped smoking for more than 15 years showed no statistical difference with non-smokers in terms of years of life remaining and years of good quality life. In contrast, men aged 50-54, heavy smokers (more than one pack per day), lost about two years of healthy life and reduced 2-year life expectancy, compared to non-smokers. Women in the same situation lost more than a year and a half of life in good health and decreased life expectancy of a little less than a year and a half.

"Heart disease, stroke and cancer, these diseases are related to smoking, are debilitating diseases. They can limit mobility and reduce independence. Consequences of these diseases are severe and, for many people This reduction in quality of life is worse than a decrease in life expectancy, "warn the authors.

They recommend to focus more on finding the messages encouraging smoking cessation on the impact of smoking on quality of life, in addition to its role in early mortality.