According to a new study each cigarette costs you 20 minutes of life, and a lifelong smoker is expected to live about ten fewer years.
Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of preventable illness, disability, and early death worldwide.
One way to highlight the harm of smoking is by estimating how much life expectancy is lost with each cigarette smoked.
“Most smokers realise that smoking could shorten their life but not the impact of each cigarette they smoke. Britain has some of the best data available worldwide to estimate the average loss of life per cigarette smoked, which is approximately 20 minutes: 17 for men and 22 for women.”
The Health Survey for England collected cotinine data from adult smokers between 1993 and 2019. The findings show only a slight change in cotinine levels per cigarette as smoking rates have decreased, suggesting no significant rise in toxic exposure per cigarette. Current estimates indicate a loss of 17 minutes of life expectancy per cigarette for men and 22 minutes for women.
For example, a person who quit smoking 10 cigarettes daily on January 1, 2025, could save a day of life by January 8, a week by February 20, and a month by August 5. By the end of the year, they might preserve 50 days of life.
This analysis was commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
source Wiley Online library
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