What does this tool measure?
Click
here to find out how much smoking affects your lifespan.
This interactive tool can be used to estimate the impact smoking
will have on your lifespan. Based on the number of cigarettes you smoked in the
past or how many you will smoke in the future, this tool estimates how many
years the damaging effects of smoking may take away from your life.
What does your score mean?
The damage caused by
smoking varies from person to person. This tool uses an estimate based on
statistical averages to increase your awareness of how smoking may be impacting
your life.
This tool does not calculate the long-term impact
smoking will have on the quality of your life and the lives of people you care
about. The disabling effects of smoking-related illnesses such as heart
disease, cancer, or emphysema can cause significant suffering and medical
expense, regardless of whether they directly affect the number of years of your
life.
How much time smoking takes from your life also depends on
lifestyle choices other than smoking, such as eating habits and exercise. These
factors may increase or decrease the amount of time your life will be shortened
by smoking.
What's next?
Quitting smoking can be difficult,
especially if you have been smoking for a long time. It may take several tries
before you succeed. But even if you have a strong addiction, it is still
possible to quit. And even if you have smoked for many years, quitting smoking
now can still increase your lifespan and improve the quality of your
life.
The best way to stop smoking is to get help and to
follow a plan. You can increase
your chances of quitting by using medicines, such as bupropion (Zyban) or varenicline (Chantix). Or you can use nicotine replacement therapy (gum, lozenges, patches, nasal sprays, or inhalers). Counseling (by phone, group, or one-on-one) can
also help. And using both medicines and counseling works even better. For more information about how you can quit smoking, see
the topic
Quitting Smoking.
If you are not sure
about your readiness to quit smoking, use the interactive tool
Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?
Sources:
Doll R, et al. (2004). Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years’ observations on male British doctors. BMJ, Published online June 22, 2004 (doi:10.1136/bmj.38142.554479.AE).
Shaw M, et al.
(2000). Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes.
BMJ, 320(7226): 53. Adapted with permission from the BMJ
Publishing Group.
Doll R, et al. (1994). Mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years’ observations on male
British doctors. BMJ, 309(6959): 901–911.
Credits
|
Author
|
Bets Davis, MFA |
|
Editor
|
Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
|
Associate Editor
|
Pat Truman, MATC |
|
Primary Medical Reviewer
|
Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
|
Specialist Medical Reviewer
|
John Hughes, MD - Psychiatry |
|
Last Updated
|
July 22, 2009 |
