HEALTH : ‘Major’ Benefit for Ex-Smokers
From Times Wire Services
WASHINGTON —
It’s never too late to quit smoking to save one’s health, U.S. Surgeon General Antonia C. Novello said today, releasing her office’s annual report on tobacco.
The health benefits of quitting are “major and immediate” and extend to men and women--young and old, sick and well, she said. People who quit before age 50 have half the risk of dying in the next 16.5 years compared to continuing smokers, the report said.
And for all ages, 10 to 15 years of abstinence reduces ex-smokers’ risk of dying to nearly the level of people who never smoked.
