New estimates suggest that each cigarette a person smokes could potentially shorten their life expectancy by 20 minutes.
A recent study has revised a previous estimate that a single cigarette could cost you 11 minutes of your life expectancy.
The figures are from an analysis by the Department for Health and Social Care and conducted by researchers from University College London (UCL).
According to the latest estimates, the average man’s life expectancy is shortened by 17 minutes for every cigarette they smoke, while a woman’s life expectancy is reduced by 22 minutes for each cigarette.
Researchers analyzed the latest data from long-term studies that monitor the population's health.
The researchers pointed out that the detrimental effects of smoking accumulate over time.
The sooner an individual quits smoking and the fewer cigarettes they smoke, the longer their life expectancy tends to be.
"Studies suggest that smokers typically lose about the same number of healthy years as they do total years of life,” wrote the researchers.
"Thus smoking primarily eats into the relatively healthy middle years rather than shortening the period at the end of life, which is often marked by chronic illness or disability. So a 60-year-old smoker will typically have the health profile of a 70-year-old non-smoker."
"We estimate that on average, smokers in Britain who do not quit lose approximately 20 minutes of life expectancy for each cigarette they smoke,” they wrote.
"This is time that would likely be spent in relatively good health … Stopping smoking at every age is beneficial, but the sooner smokers get off this escalator of death, the longer and healthier they can expect their lives to be."
For those looking to quit smoking, vaping and nicotine pouches are the most effective methods backed by scientific studies.
In Canada, the only nicotine pouches licensed for sale are Zonnic.