The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) on Tuesday said studies have indicated that the life expectancy of smokers can be extended by about 10 years if they quit before 30 and three years if they quit before 60.
“Studies indicate that the average life expectancy of smokers is about 10 or 11 years less than that of non-smokers,” HPA Deputy Director-General Yu Li-hui (游麗惠) said, adding that quitting smoking can help prevent cardiovascular diseases, respiratory tract diseases and cancers.
She said since the agency launched its Second Generation Tobacco Cessation Program in March 2012, 12,481 physicians at more than 3,200 healthcare facilities have gained certification in smoking cessation.
Since launching the program, more than 310,000 people have sought help to quit smoking at these outpatient departments and more than 80,000 people have already succeeded, Yu said, adding that only about 3 to 5 percent of smokers successfully quit smoking by using willpower alone.
“It is really difficult to quit by only relying on willpower, but it is much easier with the help of cessation treatments,” said a man surnamed Cho (卓), 37, who said he had smoked an average of 15 cigarettes per day for about 20 years, until his daughter was diagnosed with allergic respiratory tract diseases, and he finally quit smoking with the help of the program.
Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital’s tobacco cessation clinic director Hsueh Kuang-chieh (薛光傑) said it is usually even harder for people with heavy workloads or unstable daily routines to quit smoking by willpower alone.
However, studies indicate life expectancy is extended by 10, nine, six and three years if smokers quit smoking at about 30, 40, 50 and 60 respectively, Hsueh said, adding that “even quitting at an older age is still beneficial to health.”
Hsueh said the Second Generation Tobacco Cessation Program enables cessation therapies to be subsidized by the National Health Insurance program, with treatments provided free of charge for low-income households, Aborigines in mountainous areas and residents of outlying islands.
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