Health Promotion Blog

Quitting smoking at any age can improve a person’s health.  And believe it or not, older workers often fair better with smoking cessation than younger workers.

As reported by the Journal of American Medicine, Duke Univ. reseearchers tracked 573 older patients over 10 years. They found that just 16 percent of those who joined the use of tobacco cessation program later returned to use of tobacco.

Previous research has found young smokers who try to quit have a 35 percent to 45 percent relapse rate within two years.

Given that staff members nationwide are retiring later and the cost of retiree health care is sky high, you may want to keep attempting with smoking cessation programs, even for the oldest staff members on your health plan.