The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7305 p795
26 June 2004

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Smokers die 10 years earlier than non-smokers

Cigarette smokers tend to die about 10 years earlier than non-smokers, although quitting at any age reduces the risk of mortality. These findings come from the end of a 50-year seminal study on mortality and smoking in over 34,000 male doctors born between 1900 and 1930.

Early findings from the study (published in 1954) confirmed the link between smoking and lung cancer. In 2000, the study revealed that stopping smoking, even after many years, produced substantial health benefits (PJ 2000;265:223). Now, after 50 years, authors Sir Richard Doll, emeritus professor of medicine, Sir Richard Peto, professor of medical statistics and epidemiology, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, and colleagues report the final findings.

The study shows that smokers die, on average, 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Stopping at age 30, 40, 50 or 60 years gains around, respectively 10, nine, six, or three years of life expectancy. For men born in 1900-09, smoking doubled mortality rates in middle and old age. For those born in the 1920s, smoking tripled mortality rates.

Longevity has been improving rapidly for non-smokers but not for men who continue smoking. Cessation at age 50 years halves the hazard of smoking, cessation at 30 years avoids almost all of it. The authors comment that, on current worldwide smoking patterns, whereby about 30 per cent of young adults become smokers, there will be about one billion tobacco deaths in this century unless there is widespread cessation (published on BMJ Online First 22 June 2004).

Commenting on the study, Miriam Armstrong, chief executive of PharmacyHealthLink, said that it demonstrated the importance of smoking cessation. “Any pharmacists not already involved in this area ought to be,” she added. Figures from 2002, showed that some two-thirds of pharmacists were involved in smoking cessation, and Ms Armstrong hoped that these were now higher, expecting all pharmacists to embrace this intervention. She acknowledged that not all pharmacists might be highly trained in pharmacy-based cessation services but anticipated all to be able to refer smokers into local smoking cessation services.