| Facts About Smoking Cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the UK. - About 106,000 people in the UK die each year due to smoking. Smoking-related deaths are mainly due to cancers, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and heart disease.
- About half of all smokers die from smoking-related diseases.
- If you are a long-term smoker, on average your life expectancy is about 8-12 years less than a non-smoker. Put another way, in the UK about 8 in 10 non-smokers live past the age of 70, but only about half of long-term smokers live past 70.
- The younger you are when you start smoking, the more likely you are to smoke for longer and to die early from smoking.
- Many smoking-related deaths are not 'quick deaths'. For example, if you develop COPD you can expect several years of illness and distressing symptoms before you die.
The good news is: - Stopping smoking can make a big difference to your health. It is never too late to stop smoking to greatly benefit your health. For example, if you stop smoking in middle age, before having cancer or some other serious disease, you avoid most of the increased risk of death due to smoking.
See website for more of this info: http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23068824/ |