You’re Never Too Old to Quit Smoking, Study Finds

It’s never too late for a person to quit smoking, even if they’re elderly, a new study finds.

Dropping the smokes even as late as 75 can meaningfully increase a person’s life expectancy, researchers reported recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Seniors age 75 will lose on average more than four years of life if they keep smoking, compared to people who never smoked, researchers found.

On the other hand, a 75-year-old smoker who quits has a 14% chance of gaining at least one extra year of life, and a 65-year-old smoker a 23% chance.

And about 8% of those who quit at age 75 gain at least four years of life compared to those who keep smoking, researchers found.

Quitting smoking is the single best thing anyone at any age can do to increase their life expectancy, researchers concluded.

“We have seen a remarkable decline in young adult smoking over the past decade. However, rates among older adults who smoke have remained stagnant and, to our knowledge, no research had established the benefits for them of quitting,” lead researcher Thuy Le, an assistant research scientist with the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

“We wanted to show that stopping smoking is beneficial at any age and provide an incentive for older people who smoke to quit,” Le added in a university news release.