Smokers can live 15 years longer if they quit

An UK study warns that middle-aged male smokers with high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels face dying about 10 years before healthier counterparts. The British Heart Foundation said it was an important reminder for everyone over 40 to have a heart health check.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, was set up in 1967-70 at the peak of the vascular disease epidemic in the UK and looked at more than 19,000 civil servants aged 40-69 and traced what happened to them 38 years later. It concluded that men with these three risk factors could expect a 10-year shorter life from 50 years of age.