Smokers take last gasp well before their time

By MAXINE FRITH


Most of the life-prolonging medical advances of the past 50 years have been lost on smokers because of their habit, according to a report published today by the world's leading expert on lung cancer.

The gap in life expectancy between smokers and non-smokers has widened in the last half-century, as new drugs, treatments and preventative measures have reduced deaths from other causes.

But despite all the improvements in modern medicine and public health, smoking still cuts 10 years off a person's life.

Professor Sir Richard Doll, the renowned researcher who revealed the link between smoking and lung cancer, was due to announce overnight the findings in the final conclusions of his 50-year study into the health risks of tobacco.

The research represents 92-year-old Sir Richard's life's work and the study is the largest and longest running of its kind in the world.

Today's report, according to those who have seen it, will conclude that smokers have failed to benefit from the increases in life expectancy enjoyed by the rest of the population.

Smoking remains the single biggest preventable cause of death and the main reason for differences in life expectancy between rich and poor.

A man in the lowest social class has a 50 per cent chance of living until the age of 70, while a man in the highest social class has a 75 per cent chance of surviving to that age.

Half of that difference is attributable to smoking, according to Sir Richard.

But the report will conclude that smokers of all ages can benefit from quitting.

While smoking takes 10 years off life expectancy, a life-long addict who stops at the age of 50 can reduce that by four years.

A 60-year-old hardened smoker can reduce the risk by three years, while those who stop in their thirties can cut their risk by 90 per cent.

A spokesman for Action on Smoking and Health said: "This study shows that smoking is still the number one cause of preventable death, but that it is never too late to give up.

"Smoking is so dangerous that it really doesn't matter how rich or how healthy you are. If you smoke you are not going to live for as long as someone who doesn't."

Sir Richard's final findings will be published in the British Medical Journal on Saturday - 50 years to the day since his first report from the study appeared in the BMJ and provided conclusive proof that smoking did cause lung cancer.

Since 1951, Sir Richard has studied the health of 35,439 British doctors born between 1900 and 1930. His 1954 paper found that of the 780 doctors who had died, 35 were killed by lung cancer. All were smokers.

The study was seen as particularly important because doctors were considered to be more reliable reporters of their own habits and health and were committed to the project.

While the Government had rejected earlier studies which suggested a link with lung cancer, the Doll paper finally forced ministers to act.

In 1955, the then Minister of Health, R.H. Turton said: "There is statistically an incontrovertible association between cigarette smoking and incidence of lung cancer."

Sir Richard has continued to follow the doctors over the past 50 years, producing new reports every 10 years, but has decided that this will be the last.

"I don't really think there is any point in doing more of this work," he has said. "I don't think there is anything more to learn."

Living longer

Smoking takes 10 years off life expectancy but you can reduce this risk:

* by four years if you stop at 50

* by three years if you stop at 60

* by 90 per cent if you stop in your 30s

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