The effect of cessation of smoking on the accumulative survival rates of patients with symptomatic peripheral vascular disease.

A study of the accumulative survival rates of 133 patients with symptomatic peripheral vascular disease was carried out comparing the survival rates of tobacco smokers and non-smokers. Within the smoking group, those who continued to smoke after the surgery were compared to those who ceased smoking. Of these patients with peripheral vascular disease, 86% were, or had been, smokers. Their survival rates were less than for those who had never been smokers. Of the smoking group, those who claimed to have ceased smoking had almost twice the chance of surviving five years than those who continued to smoke. From these data, we conclude that it is never too late to stop the smoking habit.