What are the long-term benefits of quitting smoking?
Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases, such as heart disease and lung disease, caused by smoking. People who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely than those who continue to smoke to die from smoking-related illness. Studies have shown that quitting at about age 30 reduces the chance of dying from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent (7, 8). People who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke (8). Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke (8). • Does quitting smoking lower the risk of cancer? Quitting smoking substantially reduces the risk of developing and dying from cancer, and this benefit increases the longer a person remains smoke free. However, even after many years of not smoking, the risk of lung cancer in former smokers remains higher than in people who have never smoked (1). The risk of premature deat
Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases, such as heart disease and COPD, caused by smoking. People who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely than those who continue to smoke to die from smoking-related illness: • Quitting at age 30: Studies have shown that smokers who quit at about age 30 reduce their chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent (18, 19). • Quitting at age 50: People who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke (19). • Quitting at age 60: Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke (19). • Does quitting smoking lower the risk of cancer? Yes. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing and dying from cancer. However, it takes a number of years after quitting for the risk of cancer to start to decline. This benefit increases the longer a person remains smoke free (2). The
