Smoking Just One Cigarette Cuts 20 Minutes From Life Expectancy, Study Reveals

New research highlights gender differences in smoking's impact and emphasizes the life-extending benefits of quitting at any age.

A University College London study estimates each cigarette reduces life expectancy by an average of 20 minutes—17 minutes for men and 22 for women.
Smoking a single pack of 20 cigarettes equates to nearly seven hours of lost life expectancy, according to the findings.
Researchers emphasize that quitting smoking at any age can immediately begin to prevent further loss of life expectancy.
The study highlights that smoking primarily shortens healthier middle years of life rather than the later years often marked by chronic illness.
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in both the UK and US, with non-smokers living on average 10 years longer than smokers.