How does smoking affect my lifespan?

Dr. Michael Roizen, MD
Internal Medicine

Smoking shortens your life span in multiple studies, now over 16, by between 8 and 13 years.  Worse, though, is that it increases your years of disability between 12 and 18 years.

Robert S. Kaufmann, MD
Internal Medicine
It is said that it can take up to 10 years of your life.  If you ever notice that people that do smoke they look a lot older and also in my practice people that smoke die younger.
According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD
Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease)
Have you ever asked yourself: What on earth can I do to kick the bucket years earlier than necessary? No, you say? But if you smoke, you may be doing just that.

Smoking may actually shorten your lifespan. The term for this is "smoking-attributable years of potential life lost," which is a fancy way of saying how many years of life you lose due to smoking. Although there is no way to completely predict this number, experts do know that there is a relationship between the number of years you smoke, the number of cigarettes a day you smoke, and the average number of years your smoking habit can take from your life. For example, if you smoke one pack a day for 10 years, smoking can shorten your lifespan by nearly 4 years.

Other parts of your life like your diet, the amount of exercise you get, other medical conditions you have and even genetics, all play a role in your lifespan. But one equation is simple: When it comes to smoking, more cigarettes probably equal a shorter life.

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