THE GUARDIAN: Figure is nearly double an estimate from 2000 and means a pack of 20 cigarettes costs a person seven hours on average
Smokers are being urged to kick the habit for 2025 after a fresh assessment of the harms of cigarettes found they shorten life expectancy even more than doctors thought.
Researchers at University College London found that on average a single cigarette takes about 20 minutes off a person’s life, meaning that a typical pack of 20 cigarettes can shorten a person’s life by nearly seven hours.
According to the analysis, if a smoker on 10 cigarettes a day quits on 1 January, they could prevent the loss of a full day of life by 8 January. They could boost their life expectancy by a week if they quit until 5 February and a whole month if they stop until 5 August. By the end of the year, they could have avoided losing 50 days of life, the assessment found.
“People generally know that smoking is harmful but tend to underestimate just how much,” said Dr Sarah Jackson, a principal research fellow at UCL’s alcohol and tobacco research group. “On average, smokers who don’t quit lose around a decade of life. That’s 10 years of precious time, life moments, and milestones with loved ones.” » | Ian Sample, Science editor | Monday, December 30, 2024
Such NONSENSE! Such TOSH! Were this to be true, with the number of cigarettes I smoked throughout my life (before I quit), I should have died probably before I was ever born! These people don’t know what cr** to come up with next in order to frighten people into giving up the very, very pleasurable habit — NOT ADDICTION! — of smoking.
Are these so-called scientists totally unaware that the obesity across the western world that we can observe today, and the horrendous rates of type-2 diabetes, are probably caused in no small part because people have been brainwashed into thinking that cigarette smoking is the cause of all ills, the Devil incarnate, the bête noire of our times. IT IS NOT!
I do not advocate cigarette smoking. Not at all! It is always generally better not to smoke than to do so. However, it is not the root cause of all health issues. I smoked for almost all of my adult life, yet I still have a full head of hair in its natural colour, a full mouthful of teeth, unwrinkled skin, excellent eyesight — I can read a book to this day WITHOUT the aid of spectacles when I want to — my gums are healthy, I do not suffer from type-2 diabetes, either. And my hearing is excellent!
I quit smoking nearly three years ago. And the ONE THING I have noticed since quitting is that I have gained weight. And this, despite NOT eating more. In fact, if anything, I eat less. Moreover, I have an excellent diet: I eat few carbohydrates and virtually no sugar, only perhaps as the odd treat.
Are these so-called “scientists” not aware that people who smoke, or people who have been smokers, are far less likely ever to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease? There is also some evidence — though it is kept very quiet for obvious reasons — that smokers are far less likely to contract Alzheimer’s disease!
Furthermore, are these “scientists” oblivious to the life-enhancing effect(s) of getting some pleasure in life? If you want to shorten a man's life, deprive him of all pleasures!
So please, Y’all! Quit the CRAP! – © Mark Alexander
