Smoking leads to premature ageing
Research in the Archives of Internal Medicine has shown a decade of difference between men who smoke and men who do not.
Finnish men who had never been smokers lived an average of 10 years longer than those who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day.
These extra years of life were of good quality, with the main benefit being better physical functioning than smokers.
The men, born between 1919 and 1934, were studied for the last three decades and quality of life was measured.
Men who had never smoked had the best scores on all health related quality of life measures.
Poor quality of life indicators were most likely in heavy smokers, but were seen to a lesser degree in individuals who subsequently quit smoking.