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Non-Smokers Live Longer and Better

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 03:00 CDT

Smoking can shorten men's lives from seven and 10 years, but it also results in lower quality of life and and lower income, Finnish researchers said.

Dr. Arto Y. Strandberg of the University of Helsinki and colleagues tracked 1,658 white men born from 1919 to 1934 who were healthy at their first assessment, conducted in 1974. Participants were mailed follow-up questionnaires in 2000 that assessed their current smoking status, health and quality of life.

During the 26-year follow-up period, 22.4 percent of the men died. Those who had never smoked lived an average of 10 years longer than heavy smokers -- more than 20 cigarettes per day.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found non-smokers also had the best scores on all health-related quality of life measures, especially for physical functioning. Physical health deteriorated at an increasing rate as the number of cigarettes smoked per day increased, with heavy smokers experiencing a decline equivalent to 10 years of aging, the study said.

"In spite of the 69 percent cessation rate during follow-up, 44 percent of the originally heavy smokers had died, and those who survived to the mean age of 73 years had a significantly lower physical health-related quality of life than never-smokers," the researchers said in a statement.

Source: United Press International

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