In Australia, tobacco use causes more ill health and premature death than any other drug.

Every smoker knows that smoking is bad for their health. Everyone knows smoking causes lung cancer. But .... you know someone who smoked all their life, and they lived until they were well into their 80's. That's possible, of course, but not everyone makes old bones. Living to a ripe old age depends on all sorts of factors, not the least of which is your genes.

When we say that smoking takes x years off your life, or that half of all smokers will die from a smoking related disease, we are making a generalisation.

That means that a few people will have many more years taken off their life, and some will live longer. Or it could mean that out of every two smokers, one will die of a smoking related disease at some time in their life - you have no way of knowing if that will be you, or when it might happen.

Lots of people worry about being killed in a car accident, or eaten by a shark, or dying in a plane crash - but these things are not very likely to happen to you at all.

The bad news is that smokers face a very good chance of having to live (and die) with the consequence of their smoking.

The good news is that whenever you quit, you start to reduce the chances of illness and disease.

Back to top