Stop smoking and feel the benefits early
Publication Date:08/05/2008
The health of people who stop smoking starts to improve almost as soon as they stub out their last cigarette, a large study has found. Within five years the risk of having a heart attack is halved.
After 20 years people who quit smoking appear to have no traces of the damaging effects of smoking; they are no more likely to die early from smoking-related diseases than someone who never took up the habit.
What do we know already?
Smoking is one of the biggest killers in the UK. Every year more than 110,000 people in the UK die from smoking-related diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
The number of people in the UK who smoke is less than it used to be. At the end of the 1990s 27% of people in the UK smoked. Latest figures show that the number has fallen to 22% in recent years. One-third of smokers say they want to quit.
Previous research has looked at how smoking affects people's risk of dying from stroke and cancer and how stopping smoking impacts on these risks. Most of these studies have not followed people for more than about 12 years. In the present study researchers have looked at people's smoking habits and related this to their health over more than 20 years.
What does the new study say?
The new study found that the health benefits of not smoking start to accumulate soon after stopping. After five years people who quit smoking were 13% less likely to die early from smoking-related diseases than people who carried on smoking. The heart is the quickest organ to benefit from not smoking. The lungs seem to take longer to recover from the effects.
Compared to people who don't stop smoking, within five years of quitting you:
- Reduce your risk of heart disease (angina and heart attacks) by half
- Reduce your risk of having a stroke by nearly one-third
- Reduce your risk of lung cancer by one-fifth.
After 20 years people who had quit smoking had no extra risks of dying than people who had never smoked.
Tell me more about the study's findings
The study uses data from the Nurses' Health Study, a large study that started in 1976 on American female nurses. For the study researchers collected detailed information on the health and lifestyle of more than 105,000 nurses. They updated this information every two years. This allowed researchers to link what happens to women's health, or how they die, to aspects of their lifestyle, such as whether they smoked or not.
The study confirmed the damaging effects of smoking. It found that two-thirds (64%) of deaths among smokers were due to smoking. Among former smokers about one-third (28%) of deaths were due to smoking. And the chances of dying increased with the number of cigarettes smoked. People who smoked more than 35 cigarettes a day were 150 times more likely to die from the chronic lung disease COPD than non-smokers. They were also 40 times more likely to die from lung cancer.
Where does the study come from?
The study was done by researchers from the medical schools of Harvard University and Washington University in the US. It was published in a journal called the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
How reliable are the findings?
This is a good study that followed a very large number of women for a long time. The fact that the information on women's lifestyle and health was updated every two years is also good as this changes over time, so the information reflects what happened in real life. There were over 12,000 deaths during the 20 years of the study, which captures the risks linked with smoking.
What does this mean for me?
If you smoke, this study has important findings for you. It shows that your risk of getting smoking-related diseases starts to fall soon after quitting. Your heart seems to start to recover from the harmful effects of smoking very quickly. The lungs seem to take longer to recover, although the risk of getting lung cancer and other lung problems continues to fall for more than 20 years.
Although this study looked at women, it's likely that the findings apply just as much to men.
What should I do now?
Many smokers want to stop, although it may take several attempts to quit for good. If you want to quit smoking there's lots of help on offer. You have a better chance of stopping if you get professional help. Your doctor can also refer you to a support programme for people trying to quit smoking.
There are various treatments available for stopping smoking and research shows these help many people stop. You can buy nicotine replacement patches, gum, nasal spray, lozenges, tablets that you put under your tongue and inhalers from a pharmacy, or you can get them prescribed by your doctor. These products are recommended for adults and children over 12. Doctors can also prescribe other medicines to people over 18, to help them stop smoking. They are bupropion (brand name Zyban) and varenicline (brand name Chantix).
Bear in mind that all medicines can cause side effects, or react with other medicines you are taking. Also, some medicines are not suitable for everyone. Read the information on the pack carefully, or ask your pharmacist or doctor for advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it's best to ask your pharmacist or GP before using medication.
The NHS offers a smoking helpline, which smokers and their families can call for free, expert advice. It's open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. The number is 0800 169 0 169.
Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Rosner BA, et al. Smoking and smoking cessation in relation to mortality in women. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008; 299: 2037-2047.
To learn more see our information on stopping smoking.
News Archive
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved
This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.
