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“
Smokers
age an average five years faster than non-smokers, says a new study
which gives the lie to tobacco’s glamour marketing. The
study on the impact of obesity and smoking on human aging, just
published online in The Lancet*, found smoking accelerates the
aging process. The
study tracked the genetic features in white blood cells of 1,122
female twins aged 18-76 years - 45 pairs of identical twins and 516
pairs of non-identical twins. The
researchers found smoking led to faster shortening of the cells’
“telomeres” - the tips of the chromosomes, containing DNA, which
shorten normally over a lifetime. They found:
Says Anne Jones, Chief Executive of Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH) Australia: “We
already knew that smoking shortens your life – by an average ten
years. What this study suggests is that along the way, it will age
your body – with all the likely negative effects, including
deteriorating mobility, sexual function and physical appearance. “This
shows how very misleading and deceptive are the tobacco industry’s
glamorous marketing strategies targeting young women. “These
techniques are very sophisticated and pervasive – but young women
sucked in by them will find that instead of making them more
glamorous, smoking will make them look and feel older. “As
we know from other research, it will also harm their sexual and
reproductive health and will seriously endanger their babies both
before and after birth. “Governments
need to end all remaining forms of tobacco advertising – including
the sneaky below-the-line marketing and shop displays – and to
counter glamourised film and TV smoking with new campaigns showing the
real impacts on health and appearance.”
*
Valdes, A. The Lancet, June 14, 2005; online edition. WebMD
Medical News: Comment: Anne
Jones, CEO, ASH Australia ph.
(02) 9334-1876 m.
0417-227-879 Media inquiries:
Stafford Sanders ph.
(02) 9334-1823 m.
0412-070-194
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Page last updated 15/6/05 |
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