After smoking for a decade, a middle-aged cigarette smoker is two to three times more likely to die early than a similarly aged person who has never smoked.

Smoking has long been known to damage the body and increase the risk of many cancers, lung and cardiovascular problems, pregnancy complications, and cataracts. However, few people know about its links to the brain. Recent studies have found that smoking doesn’t only affect the physical body, but can also seep its way into the confines of the mind.

If you smoke and you live with others or with pets, thirdhand smoke is a great reason to quit.

A study on mice published in the journal PLOS ONE has shown that thirdhand smoke (which settles on furniture and other common surfaces) can lead to Type 2 diabetes but also damage the liver and lungs, interfere with wound healing, and cause hyperactivity.

Thirdhand smoke can settle on surfaces such as clothing, furniture, hair, etc. Scientists warn that it should be avoided to protect the health of the elderly, as well as children living with smokers.

According to the Health and Social Care Information Centre, 19% of adults in Great Britain smoked in 2014 with the average daily consumption per adult being 11 cigarettes. During the same year it was also estimated that up to 78,000 deaths could be attributed to smoking-related complications. The harrowing side effects of smoking have been known for years and although feared by most smokers, it does not always serve as sufficient motivation to quit the nasty habit.

When an elderly person has been smoking for quite some time, the thought of quitting has probably surfaced numerous times, yet never materialised into anything. Quitting is never easy despite the countless therapies designed to make the process easier. It is often only when the risk factors of smoking is weighed against the enjoyment of smoking at an older age that a conscious decision is made to quit and that action is taken to ensure the success of the decision.