Ive been smoking for over 20 years. Should I even bother quitting?
Yes.Assuming you are an average smoker, you started smoking at the age of 18 and now smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. This would make you 38 years old with a 20 pack year history of smoking.A pack year is the number of years you have smoked multiplied by the number of packs of cigarettes per day (20 years x 1 pack per day = 20 pack years).Since emphysema does not usually develop until someone has accumulated 50 pack years, quitting today may prevent you from ever getting emphysema.Also, since most men do not start having heart attacks until their mid 40s, stopping cigarettes should delay or prevent your risk of heart attacks. Furthermore, should you quit now, by the time you are 50 years old, not only will your risk of dying from a heart attack decrease, but so will your risk of lung, throat and esophageal cancers.
