-
- NEW
YORK (Reuters Health)
- Male smokers are
robbed of an average of 11 minutes of lifespan with
each cigarette
smoked, UK researchers estimate.
-
- Smokers could be missing out on
a lot of living, they
say, pointing out that 11 minutes is enough for a
phone call to a friend,
a healthy walk, or a bout of "fairly
frantic sexual intercourse.''
-
- Dr. Mary Shaw and colleagues, from the University of
Bristol in England, based the estimate on data from a survey of British
households. They calculated that the typical male smoker "will
consume
a total of 311,688 cigarettes'' from age 17 until death at age
71.
-
- In a
separate analysis, they found that a lifetime of
smoking reduces the
lifespan of the average male smoker by 6.5 years, compared
with
non-smokers. This means, the research team writes, that "each
cigarette has cost him, on average, 11 minutes of life.''
-
- Eliminating a full
carton of cigarettes would buy the
smoker an extra day and a half of
life " enough time to fly round
the world, take in a Wagner opera,
or enjoy a "romantic night away,''
the researchers say.
-
- SOURCE: British
Medical Journal 2000;320:53.
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- _____
-
- Smoking A Major
Problem Among
Teens And Around The World
-
-
- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- Maybe everyone you know has quit smoking, but according to the American
Heart Association (AHA), the habit is on the rise among teens in the US
and is a rising cause of death in people around the world.
-
- In fact,
smoking-related deaths worldwide are expected
to triple over the next
century, according to the AHA.
-
- "Anyone who sees these statistics should be very
concerned,'' AHA president Dr. Lynn Smaha said in a statement, referring
to an annual report released Thursday called 2000 Heart and Stroke
Statistical
Update.
-
- Smoking is already responsible for about 1 in 5 deaths
from cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death in
the US for both men and women, according to the report. Separately, the
World Health Organization has estimated that 3 million people died from
tobacco use in 1990, a figure that will increase to 10 million by
2025.
-
- Two
particular areas of concern in the US are teen smoking
and the effects
of secondhand tobacco smoke,according to the report.
-
- From 1988 to 1996, the number
of adolescents ages 12
to 17 who started smoking increased by 30%, and
the number who say they
smoke every day increased by 50%. "If
these trends continue, about
5 million of these teenagers will
eventually die from a smoking-related
disease,'' Smaha says.
-
- The report also
indicates that more than 40% of all US
children under 12 are exposed to
secondhand tobacco smoke in the home.
Moreover, close to half of
working adults are exposed to secondhand smoke,
at home and/or at work.
This exposure increases the risk of death from
heart disease by up to
30%, the AHA warns.
-
- "Smoking is a risk factor that people can
control,''
Smaha notes. "It's a logical place to focus our
attention in our efforts
to reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke
in the coming century.''
-
- Visit the AHA website at http://www.americanheart.org
for more information about quitting smoking and preventing heart disease
and stroke.
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