The Guardian
www.guardian.co.uk (Published May 7, 2008)

Giving up smoking has rapid health benefits, says study

Risk of death from all causes falls by 13% within 5 years and no extra risk of death by 20 years

People who give up smoking begin to improve their health almost immediately, according to a study of more than 100,000 women carried out between 1980 and 2004. Within five years the risk of death from all causes fell by 13%, it found. By 20 years, people had no extra risk of death because of their past smoking history.

The study, by researchers at Harvard medical school in Boston, also highlights the benefits of not starting smoking until later; women who began at 17 were 22% more likely to die within the study period than those who started at 26 or older. The news will encourage the third of smokers in the UK who would like to give up the habit. A survey by the Office for National Statistics released in January found 22% of Britons are smokers, down from 27% at the end of the 1990s and the lowest level since records began.

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