What an astonishing statistic. The premature loss of life is primarily due to doubling of risk of heart attack, lung cancer and emphysema. There are other cancers such as larynx, esophagus, pancreas and uterus, which are also caused by tobacco. Thus, it becomes pretty apparent that stopping smoking is critical to future good health. Never starting, of course, is better.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
It is now known that there is benefit from stopping no matter how long one has smoked. This risk of heart attack returns to normal after five years of non-years of smoking cessation. In emphysema, the rate of loss of breathing capacity slows once people finally stop. Even patients over the age of 60 with advanced degrees of impairment live longer if they stop smoking. Thus, it is pretty obvious that no one should continue to smoke no matter what their preconceived notions about damage already been done.