Every puff counts. Behind this innocuous gesture for millions of smokers lies an implacable reality: tobacco eats away precious years of life.
According to studies, one cigarette can shorten our lives by several minutes, and this cumulative effect over years can represent an entire decade less.
A direct impact on life expectancy: edifying figures
10 years less life for regular smokers
According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), a regular smoker loses on average 10 years of life expectancy compared to a non-smoker. In France, where around 25% of adults smoke daily (data from Santé Publique France, 2023), this represents tens of thousands of lives cut short each year. In 2023, tobacco was responsible for 75,000 deaths, or around 13% of deaths in the country.
These figures are far from anecdotal. They reflect the cumulative effect of cigarettes on the body, the harmful effects of which increase over time. The reduction in life expectancy is largely due to the appearance of serious illnesses such as cancer, heart attacks and even respiratory disorders.
One cigarette equals 11 minutes less life
One of the most striking data to illustrate the impact of tobacco comes from a study published in the British Medical Journal. According to this study, each cigarette smoked causes a loss of approximately 11 minutes of life. Those wasted minutes add up quickly.
- A smoker consuming one pack per day (20 cigarettes) “wastes” approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes each day.
- Over a year, this represents 55 fewer days of life.
- Over 10 years, that’s nearly 560 days lost, or more than a year and a half of life.
This calculation, although symbolic, gives a precise idea of the daily impact of tobacco. The consequences are not long in coming: from the first years of smoking, health risks increase.
Why is tobacco so harmful to our health?
A cocktail of toxic substances
The cigarette is much more than just a stick of tobacco. It contains a mixture of 4,000 chemical substances, including at least 70 recognized as carcinogenic by the WHO. Among the most destructive, we find:
- Nicotine: responsible for addiction, it acts directly on the brain by releasing dopamine, the pleasure hormone. She’s the one that makes stopping so difficult.
- Carbon monoxide: This gas reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, depriving organs of their vital fuel.
- Tar: it clogs the lungs, causes chronic inflammation and is directly involved in the development of cancer.
Serious illnesses at stake
Tobacco is a major cause of preventable mortality, because it promotes the onset of many serious diseases:
- Cancers: it is responsible for 80% of lung cancers. But that’s not all. Tobacco is also implicated in cancers of the throat, mouth, bladder, pancreas and many other organs.
- Cardiovascular diseases: smokers have twice the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Nicotine and other toxic substances damage blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure and clots.
- Respiratory disorders: tobacco gradually destroys the pulmonary alveoli, leading to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which drastically reduces respiratory capacity.
These pathologies do not develop overnight, but their probability increases with each cigarette smoked. Active smoking, but also passive smoking, is a real scourge for public health.
Quitting smoking: an immediate and lasting gain for health
Benefits from the first hours
Quitting smoking may seem difficult, but the positive health effects appear quickly:
- After 20 minutes: blood pressure and heart rate return to normal.
- After 8 hours: the carbon monoxide level in the blood decreases, and the oxygen level returns to an optimal level.
- After 24 hours: the risk of heart attack begins to decrease.
- After 3 months: respiratory functions improve, coughing decreases, and the body begins to cleanse itself.
In the long term: years of life gained
Quitting smoking, even after decades of consumption, can therefore increase life expectancy. According to a study published in The Lancet, a person who quits smoking before the age of 40 can gain back up to 9 years of life.
But even for older smokers, the benefits are significant. Quitting smoking after age 60 significantly reduces the risk of serious illnesses.
The keys to successfully quitting smoking
Be accompanied
Quitting smoking is a challenge, but there are many tools to achieve it:
- Nicotine substitutes (patches, gums, lozenges) help reduce withdrawal symptoms.
- Help from a tobacco specialist: these health professionals offer programs adapted to each profile.
- Support groups: sharing your experience with other smokers who are quitting can be very motivating.
Applications like Tabac Info Service also offer practical tools to track your progress and find personalized advice.
Visualize the benefits
In addition to health, quitting smoking allows you to make substantial savings. In France, a package today costs on average 13 euros. For a pack-a-day smoker, this represents 4,745 euros saved per year. Added to this is the regained quality of life, better breathing, brighter skin and a reduction in tobacco odors.
Of course, the path to quitting may seem difficult, but with support and motivation, it is entirely possible to regain control. The best time to quit is today. Why not start now?
NAMELY
For more information, go to Tabac Info Service.
