This view is misguided, and elderly smokers who want to quit need more support, suggest the results of a research review. Older smokers have traditionally been less likely than younger smokers to attempt quitting, but those who do try are more likely than younger smokers to seek assistance and to be successful in their quitting efforts. Dr. Burns found that smoking takes a higher toll on the elderly. It causes cumulative damage that increases the risk of death and of smoking-related diseases with every birthday celebrated. Approximately 70 percent of the 400,000 individuals who die each year from smoking-related causes are over 60, according to the study.
Lung cancer tends to result after years of accumulated damage to cells exposed to carcinogens.
COPD, which causes emphysema, results after years of damage to the small airway walls of the lungs. Heart disease caused by smoking-induced hardening of the arteries tends to have a shorter lag time than the other two conditions. Thus, in addition to killing elderly smokers, it is the greatest cause of smoking-induced mortality for smokers under 50. Dr. Burns' analysis suggests that elderly smokers who quit do bounce back, although not as well or as quickly as younger smokers who quit. The risk of lung cancer declines in those who quit after age 60, for example, but this decline in risk appears to be smaller and slower to manifest than for younger smokers.