The risk of smoking-related lung cancer is much higher than previously thought, a new study on smoking shows.  The benefit of quitting-even at age 50 or later-is also higher than had been believed, say researchers at Oxford University in England.

The study, published August 3 in the British Medical Journal, found that lifelong male smokers have a 16 percent chance of dying from lung cancer by age 75, and those who smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day have a 24 percent chance.  Women smokers have a 10 percent chance of dying from lung cancer by age 75, and 19 percent if they are heavy smokers.  These percentages are more than double those suggested by earlier studies.

The study also concludes that a 50-year-old male smoker who quits will more than halve his risk of dying from lung cancer to six percent, while quitting at age 30 cuts the risk even further to 1.7 percent. Similar reductions in risk percentages apply to female smokers who quit.

“The message for smokers from this study is ‘Quit now-the sooner, the better,’” says Thomas Neslund, a health spokesperson for the Adventist Church worldwide. “This explodes the old argument that it’s not worth the effort, in terms of health benefit, for a longtime smoker to give up the habit.”

An estimated 157,000 people in the United States will die from lung cancer this year.  According to World Health Organization statistics, one third of the world’s population over 15 years of age are smokers. Of these, a disproportionate number-800 million-are in developing nations.

The Adventist Church strongly promotes a tobacco-free lifestyle, and has developed a number of anti-smoking programs that are offered around the world. Anti-tobacco education for young people, using an innovative peer-to-peer approach, is also a priority for the church, says Neslund.