One cigarette equals 20 minutes of life: How dangerous is smoking?

Men who care about healthy habits and longevity should pay attention to new data from researchers at University College London. A study showed that each cigarette smoked shortens your life by 20 minutes. It may seem small, but if you calculate it, a typical pack of 20 cigarettes can steal almost 7 hours of your life.

Men who care about healthy habits and longevity should pay attention to new data from researchers at University College London. A study showed that each cigarette smoked shortens your life by 20 minutes. It may seem small, but if you calculate it, a typical pack of 20 cigarettes can steal almost 7 hours of your life.

But that's not all. If you smoke 10 cigarettes a day, according to scientists, quitting smoking on January 1st would allow you to regain an entire day of life by January 8th. By February 5th, you'd save a whole week, and by August 5th, a full month. Over the course of a year, you could save about 50 days. Not too bad, right?

What’s important is that this research, commissioned by the UK Department of Health, is based on reliable data: the British Doctors Study (conducted from 1951 to 2001) and the Million Women Study, which tracks women's health from 1996. When faced with these numbers, it becomes clear that the consequences of smoking are far more serious than we often think.

Previously, scientists claimed that one cigarette takes away 11 minutes of life, but the new study almost doubles this number: 20 minutes. And it doesn't stop there. Smoking not only steals a few years at the end of life, but it lowers the quality of life in middle age. A 60-year-old smoker might feel like a 70-year-old nonsmoker, and that’s a big blow to your well-being.

So, if you want your healthy years to be long and for old age not to hit too soon, it might be time to consider quitting this harmful habit. Cigarettes take away much more than you think.