In some studies, at the end of them, I see:

“quitting smoking reduces your chance of dying from all causes.”

So if I quit smoking I’m less likely to get hit by a bus?

  • philpo@feddit.org
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    23 days ago

    Yeah. Came here to write exactly this.

    What OP misunderstood is the old tale of mortality vs. lethality.

    In a simplified explanation: Mortality defines the percentage of deaths in a population by a cause.

    Lethality is the percentage of deaths of people suffering from a cause.

    In our case:

    • Smokers might only get hit by a bus slightly less often or slightly more often(1) (Mortality)

    • But they have a far greater chance of dying from it when they get hit. The same can be said for being shot,etc. Being a smoker always reduces your statistical chances.

    (1:Actually quite fascinating - there is conflicting evidence on that one, as smoking is often statistically associated with substance abuse and bad health - which increases the likelihood of major trauma events, but on the other hand smokers die earlier,leaving more old people to walk in front of vehicles due to reduced cognitive abilities)