Tobacco Smoking - Shortens Life Expectancy, Reduces Quality of Life..

October 26, 2008 - Cigarette smoking increases the risk of dying in middle age. The most important lifestyle factor that leads to premature aging and disease is smoking. Smokers look older than non-smokers, because of skin changes and wrinkles. Smokers really are older, in a physiologic sense, than non-smokers. And thus smokers are more susceptible to diseases, disability, and premature death. (The Effect of Smoking on Aging, Dr. Trudy Manchester, MakeSmokingHistory.org)

Researchers from the University of Bergen followed nearly 50,000 residents of rural Norway for 25 years. They found that 41 percent of men who continued to smoke heavily (at least one pack a day) died between 40 to 70 years of age as compared to just 14 percent of men who never smoked. Twenty-six percent of women who were heavy smokers died between 40 and 70 years of age compared with only 9 percent of women who did not smoke. Smoking and Deaths between 40 and 70 Years of Age in Women and Men,DoctorNDTV, Annals Internal Medicine, March 2006, ABSTRACT..

Survival decreases with increasing number of cigarettes smoked per day. The benefits of quitting smoking are greatest for those who quit before their 40th or 50th birthday. For smokers a deceased quality of life was obvious when considering physical functioning and role limitations caused by health issues.

Recently, it has been reported that 3000 smokers in the Australian State of Victoria under the age of 50 are killed as a result of a smoking related illness leaving behind nearly 10,500 sons and daughters. (Fiona Sharkie is the Executive Director of Quit Victoria.)

Secondhand smoke is associated with reduced quality of life, more significantly so in women.

The biggest losers when a parent smokes are the CHILDREN.