It’s NEVER too late to quit smoking – even in your 60s – but the sooner you do it the longer you will live, experts claim
US study followed 160,000 over-70s for six years comparing never-smokers, ex-smokers and smokers
IT is never too late to quit smoking — even in your 60s, a study shows.
Those over 70 are three times more likely to die from the effects than those who never smoked.
But the younger that they quit, the less likely they are to be killed by related diseases.
The National Cancer Institute in Maryland, US, followed 160,000 over-70s for six years. They compared never-smokers, ex-smokers and smokers.
During the study 16 per cent of participants died — 12.1 per cent of them non-smokers, and 33.1 per cent current smokers.
Of those who quit cigs in their 30s, 16.2 per cent died. The death rate rose to 19.7 per cent for those who gave up in their 40s and to 23.9 per cent for people in their 50s.
Among the participants who quit in their 60s, the death rate was 27.9 per cent — still 5.2 per cent less than smokers.