A recent study reveals that smokers lose an average of 20 minutes of life for each cigarette, but quitting can restore significant amounts of time, potentially hours or even weeks.

Professor Sanjay Agrawal emphasizes the urgent need to address smoking, which remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the UK.

Researcher Sarah Jackson highlights that smoking primarily diminishes the healthier years of life, indicating that a 60-year-old smoker may have health profiles akin to a 70-year-old non-smoker.

In response to these findings, the UK government is considering legislation to gradually ban tobacco sales, aiming to ensure that individuals born after January 1, 2009, will never legally purchase tobacco.

This initiative is part of a broader campaign to encourage smoking cessation, supported by the publication of research in the journal 'Addiction'.

Experts, including Harm Wienbergen from the Bremen Institute for Heart and Circulatory Research, acknowledge the plausibility of the study's estimates while noting individual variability in smoking-related harm.

The research underscores the variability in health outcomes among smokers, as factors such as inhalation depth and individual susceptibility to toxins can lead to vastly different experiences.

The study's estimates are based on simplifying assumptions and do not differentiate between light and heavy smokers, raising questions about their applicability to individual cases.

Public awareness of the dangers of smoking has increased, bolstered by decades of anti-tobacco campaigns, yet smoking remains a significant public health issue.

In Cyprus, tobacco use accounts for 12.7% of all deaths, with a notable prevalence of smoking among adults and youth, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive tobacco control measures.

Despite a decline in smoking rates, current smokers may be smoking more intensively, which could exacerbate health risks.

Research indicates that quitting smoking can significantly lower heart disease risk, comparable to the effects of heart attack prevention medications.