10 years.  At least that’s what a new study detailed in a recent New York times article revealed.  Read that again.  10 years, a whole decade of one’s life.  If that doesn’t get your attention that smoking is literally one of the worst things one can do from a health standpoint, some of these excerpts from the article might:

It also showed that differences between smokers and the population in general are becoming more and more stark. Over the last 20 years, advances in medicine and public health have improved life expectancy for the general public, but smokers have not benefited in the same way.

“If anything, this is accentuating the difference between being a smoker and a nonsmoker,” Dr. McAfee said.

Not surprisingly, the study showed that the earlier a person quit smoking, the greater the impact. People who quit between 25 and 34 years of age gained about 10 years of life compared to those who continued to smoke. But there were benefits at many ages. People who quit between 35 and 44 gained about nine years, and those who stopped between 45 and 59 gained about four to six years of life expectancy.

If you are a smoker and haven’t considered quitting yet, please go read this article and study today.  It might prompt you to re-think that strategy.