Make a choice for life

21 October, 2013

Make a choice for life

As the important players advocating for a smoke-free Pacific are gearing up to attend the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference in New Zealand, newly released research from Australia points a bigger finger at smoking and its implication in an earlier death.

Two-thirds of all smokers die as a result of their tobacco-based habit, and lighting-up on a regular basis can reduce a person’s lifespan by a full decade, researchers from the Sax Institute in Australia claim in a new study.

The researchers reviewed four years’ worth of health records belonging to over 200,000 Australians and found that smoking is directly linked to the cause of death in two-thirds of all current smokers – far exceeding previous global estimates of 50 percent.

In addition, the research, which was supported by the National Heart Foundation of Australia, found that a smoker’s lifespan will be reduced by at least 10 percent – whether or not people are light, moderate or heavy smokers.

“This study confirms what we know – that smoking is incredibly bad for your heath,” said Health Promotion Manager for the Cancer Society, Dr Jan Pearson. “Now we have direct large-scale evidence from Australia that shows it’s even worse that we thought.”

This week (October 23 – 25) the Cancer Society is hosting the biennial Oceania Tobacco Control Conference in Auckland. Many eminent researchers will be presenting at the three day conference, which will be opened by the Hon Tariana Turia.

ENDS

© Scoop Media