• 7/30/2004
  • By Oliver Childs
  • Nature Biology, Voulume 4, Number 8

Smokers die an average 10 years earlier than non-smokers; so concludes a landmark study published in the British Medical Journal (26 June 2004). This and other findings of the now-famous prospective study of the long-term smoking habits of over 34,000 British male doctors are the culmination of 50-years research into the effects of cigarette smoking in this cohort.

“Since the study began in 1951, tobacco has killed around 100 million people globally”, commented Alex Markham of Cancer Research UK (http://news.bbc.co.uk, 25 June 2004). But quantification of the risk of smoking has been limited. The results of this study provide some sobering facts and figures for smokers: “It is clear that consistent cigarette smoking doubles mortality throughout adult life” (Reuters, 22 June 2004), remarked Richard Doll, the Oxford University professor who initiated the study and first discovered the link between smoking and lung cancer.

However, the news is not all bad: “… we also know that stopping smoking will significantly limit the harm” (San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2004), said Richard Peto, Doll’s 30-year colleague on the study. In fact, the study found that stopping smoking at age 50 added 6 years to life expectancy. Furthermore, stopping before the age of 30 avoids almost all hazard associated with smoking.

The study conclusions are stark for those who continue to smoke, but also signal to those who are keen on quitting that it is not too late to do so. As Peto remarked, “Smoking kills people and stopping works” (Reuters, 22 June 2004).

Source: Nature Reviews Cancer 4, 574 (2004); doi:10.1038/nrc1423