Smokers Lose 5 Years Off Lifespan

Image by kalandrakas via Flickr

I don’t like smoking, ask any of my friends and they will tell you it is true. I hate to breathe in the smoke and I don’t like the smell of it on your breath or your clothes when I give you a kiss or a hug. That being said, I still love my friends and family who do, it is the smoking that worries me not the person. I worry about their health and what smoking might be doing to them and this research article just in, doesn’t help at all…

“The effect of smoking on the chance of dying is similar to the effect of adding five to 10 years of age,” the study said.

“For both men and women, smoking increases the risk of death by nearly the same magnitude as adding five years to a person’s age.”

The figures were derived by compiling death and health risk statistics from various agencies such as the American Cancer Society and National Center for Health Statistics, and were arranged into 10-year risk charts.

“For example, a 55-year-old man who smokes has about the same 10-year risk of death from all causes as a 65-year-old man who never smoked,” it said.

Among women who never smoked, the 10-year risk rates of dying from breast cancer and heart disease were similar until age 60, after which heart disease was the biggest killer.

“For women who currently smoke, the chance of dying from heart disease or lung cancer exceeds the chance of dying from breast cancer from age 40 on.”

The study, which aimed to help doctors convey the risks of smoking, was led by Lisa Schwartz of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Vermont.” (Physorg.com)

Now I know that smokers hate being told not to smoke, but I am going to do it anyway. Have you ever thought about how your friends and relatives feel about it, how they might worry themselves sick about you? My gorgeous daughter smoked for 10 years and last year she had her cervix removed, because of cancer. It went from just a warning (during a time when she was ‘quitting’- it did not progress at all) to urgently needing an operation (as soon as she started smoking again) that has got to tell you something. We love you so please stop.

live a balanced life…