Men lose 17 minutes of life with every cigarette they smoke while a woman’s life is cut short by 22 minutes with each cigarette, experts have estimated.
This is more than previous estimates, which suggest that each cigarette shortens a smoker’s life by 11 minutes.
The new estimates, which suggest that each cigarette leads to 20 minutes loss of live on average across both genders, are based on more up-to-date figures from long-term studies tracking the health of the population.
Researchers from University College London said that the harm caused by smoking is “cumulative” and the sooner a person stops smoking, and the more cigarettes they avoid smoking, the longer they live.
The new analysis, commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care, suggests that if a 10-cigarettes-a-day smoker quits on…