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Smoking just one cigarette cuts life expectancy by about 20 minutes: Study

Research commissioned by the U.K. government reveals that smoking just one cigarette cuts life expectancy by about 20 minutes. For someone smoking 10 cigarettes daily, quitting for a week could regain a day of life, while a year of abstinence could restore up to 50 days.

Despite significant declines in smoking rates, 11.6% of U.S. adults and 3.8% of youth still smoke, according to the American Lung Association. Smoking remains a leading cause of preventable death, linked to serious conditions like heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, and chronic respiratory diseases, and takes hundreds of thousands of American lives annually.

Sarah Jackson, a principal research fellow at University College London, emphasized the immediate and long-term benefits of quitting, stating, “The sooner a person stops smoking, the longer they live.”

The findings are based on decades of data from studies such as the British Doctors Study and the Million Women Study. Researchers calculated smoking’s impact, noting each cigarette significantly reduces life expectancy and worsens quality of life.

For those looking to quit, resources such as nicotine replacement products, counseling, and public health services are available in both the U.S. and U.K.

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