Everyday health Note · 4 min read

It's never too late to quit tobacco, even at 70

Quitting at 60 still adds about three years of life. India has a free quitline, 1800 11 2356, with counselling in regional languages

The Pushpa team · 6 sources

Pushpa notes40

Days without tobacco

3 weeks

Never too late

“Ab is umar mein kya fark padega?” A lot, it turns out. The US CDC says quitting has health benefits at any age, no matter how long or how much someone has smoked. And tobacco in India isn't only cigarettes: among Indians over 60, LASI found 13.8% currently smoke and 21.5% use smokeless tobacco like gutka, khaini or zarda

3 years

of life gained by quitting smoking at about 60 (WHO)

What happens when she stops

Within 20 minutes, heart rate and blood pressure drop
Within 12 hours, carbon monoxide in the blood returns to normal
Within 1 to 9 months, coughing and breathlessness ease
After a year, the risk of heart disease is about half that of a smoker
For someone with COPD, quitting slows the disease, the CDC says

These are the WHO's figures. After a heart attack, quitting cuts the chance of another by 50%

Help is free

National Tobacco Quitline: 1800 11 2356, toll-free, with counselling in regional languages from centres across the country
mCessation: give a missed call to 011-22901701 for support by SMS
Ask her doctor about medicines. The WHO says counselling and medication can more than double the chance of quitting

Pressure rarely works with a parent who has used tobacco for fifty years. Talk about what they'd gain: easier breath, more time with grandchildren. Let them choose the day

How Pushpa helpsPushpa can check in each evening on how the quit is going, without scolding, and share the streak with the family so they can cheer her on