QUITTING SMOKING PROLONGS LIFE AT ANY AGE

SMOKERS HAVE SHORTER LIFE 

EXPECTANCY THAN NONSMOKERS

www.latimes.com - It's never too late to quit smoking, and researchers have new data to prove it. Even at the age of 64, kicking the habit can add four years to a person's life, while quitting by age 34 can increase life expectancy by a decade, according to a study published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. 
After analyzing health data from more than 200,000 Americans, researchers calculated that current smokers were three times more likely to die during the course of the study compared with people who had never smoked. For the most part, their deaths were caused by smoking-related ailments, including heart and lung disease. Overall, their odds of surviving to age 80 were half as good as for never-smokers. But the study, one of two large-scale surveys in the journal providing updated information on smoking and mortality, saw significant benefits for those who quit.

Giving up smoking between the ages of 35 and 44 was associated with a gain of nine years of life, and those who quit between 45 and 54 lived an extra six years. "The good news is, because the risks are so big, the benefits of quitting are quite substantial," said study leader Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Global Health Research, based in Toronto. While the U.S. smoking rate has declined to 19.3% among adults, there are still an estimated 45.3 million smokers in this country. Cigarette use is responsible for about 443,000 U.S. deaths each year, the CDC says. 
The two papers did not draw distinctions between people who smoked a pack a day and those who might smoke just a few cigarettes a day, said Dr. Steven Schroeder, director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at UC San Francisco. The message needs to get out to young and old smokers alike, he said: "There's a ray of hope. It's never too late to quit."

Smokers lose at least one decade of life expectancy over non-smokers on average according to a new study. Kicking the smoking habit can add years of life even in one's 60s, new research in the New England Journal of Medicine shows. Younger smokers can gain a whole decade by quitting. We all know that quitting smoking is not easy and most of the time you’ll be unsuccessful. Studies have found that many smokers make five to seven attempts to quit smoking before quitting successfully. With that in mind it is important to keep trying to quit and taking every opportunity to make a renewed attempt to quit. As Amina Khan, author of the article, says: "It's never too late to quit smoking."

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

My father told me when he was young, nobody had any idea that cigarettes were bad.  It was fashionable to smoke cigarettes.  One movie star always had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  The way he did it the whole of America was trying to imitate.  He was such a sex symbol and such a handsome heroic person.  His style became the fashion. ... but he died of cancer of the lips.  One of the most famous singers would sing while smoking a cigarette.  How can you smoke when you are singing!  It was amazing ... he died of cancer of the lungs only when he was forty.  So doctors began coming out and saying, ‘Cigarettes are going to kill you.  Stop Smoking!’  When that message came out cigarette smoking became more popular among the young people.  Because they are trying to prove to themselves, “I am daring. I am fearless.  I don’t care if I am risking my life.  I am going to do it to be cool.  Yes I know it will kill me.”  It’s so foolish.  It’s just the example of mentality of material existence.  We are not willing to listen to good advice.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja : 
“Listen To Good Advice”
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/
http://radhanathswami.info/archives
http://radhanathswami.info/knowledge/listen-good-advice-radhanath-swami#more-814

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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