But the articles do not explain,nor does the SG, where that number comes from. For decades the figure has been set at about 7 years.
IMO, the SG deserves to lose his job over that so-called report. No, not because I am a smoker, but because of blatant lies in it. It states smoking causes cervical cancer....wrong. Even non-physicians know that 98-99% of cervical cancer cases are caused by a virus or STD. Smoking is neither.
It's tough to evaluate the Surgeon General's claims from a newspaper article, which of course offers no detailed explanation, much less the actual data or statistical arguments the claims are based on. I suppose we could obtain the original paper or papers detailing the research. But my own knowledge of biostatistics is a bit sketchy. As a scientist, I'm inclined to respect peer-reviewed research by workers in other disciplines.
For decades the figure has been set at about 7 years.
I recall reading some years ago that the loss of life expectancy for one-pack-a-day smokers is 6 years but for two-pack-a-day smokers, it's 20 years. I don't know what fraction of smokers smoke one pack a day, or some two packs a day.
Anyway, I'm sorry if I sound like an anti-smoking Nazi. I don't smoke but I hang around with friends and colleagues who do (in the local brew-pub up the street). But I do support public health efforts to discourage kids from smoking.