Giving up cigarettes can have almost immediate health benefits Quitting smoking in middle age or beyond still has significant health benefits, says a team of German researchers. Even lifelong smokers who gave up smoking later on in life still experienced a massive 40 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack and stroke within just five years.
The study, conducted by the German Research Centre, found that even those in their 50s and 60s were able to reverse some of the damage they had inflicted on their bodies.
The researchers followed nearly 9000 German people aged between 50 and 74 years for ten years. They found that smokers were at double the risk of developing heart disease compared to non-smokers, but that former smokers were at almost the same low rate as people of the same age who have never smoked.
“We also found that smokers are affected [by heart disease] at a significantly younger age than individuals who have never smoked or have stopped smoking,” said Professor Hermann Brenner, who conducted the study.
The results suggest that anti-smoking campaigns, which tend to focus on younger participants, should also include help for older people as well. It reinforced the long held advice often given by doctors that it is never too late to give up smoking and reap very real health benefits.
Today’s findings are similar to a Canadian study published earlier this year which found that people who give up smoking by the age of 44 can live almost as long as those who have never smoked.
“Quitting smoking at 40, and preferably well before 40, gives back almost all of the decade of lost life from continued smoking,” said study leader Professor Prabhat Jha.
The researchers also found that people who quit smoking could reverse other side effects associated with habit, such as poor skin.
“To an extent it is possible to undo the damage smoking does to your skin. Within six weeks of quitting smoking the skin will be visibly benefiting from increased oxygen and antioxidant levels, but you must adopt a strict skin-care regime,” dermatologist Prof Nick Lowe told the Daily Mail.