Many pensioners hardcore smokers

Dot Cotton: Hardcore smoker

Nearly one in three smokers over the age of 65 are 'hardcore' puffers with no interest in giving up, research has found.

A team from the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit at University College London, found the proportion of hardcore smokers greatly increases with age.

Among the 16-24 age group, just 5% were considered as hardcore.

But this figure rose to 30% of smokers aged 65 and above.

The researchers believe that many of these smokers could be influenced by better targeted health messages.

They found that a third of hardcore smokers believe their health is totally unaffected by smoking and will remain so in the future.

Some 31% said smoking was the main pleasure in their life.

Effect of giving up smoking

After just 20 minutes blood pressure and pulse return to normal

After 8 hours oxygen levels in the blood return to normal

After 24 hours the body is free from carbon monoxide

The researchers defined a hardcore smoker as somebody who has gone less than a day without a cigarette in the past five years, and who has made no attempt to quit in the past year, or shown any desire or intention of giving up.

In total, 16% of all English smokers met this definition.

They believe more older people are likely to be hardcore smokers because they have a false sense of security, having smoked for years without noticing any effect on their health.

Researcher Professor Martin Jarvis said: "As smokers get older more of them develop entrenched attitudes.

"Some just give up hoping they can ever succeed in quitting, and some are lulled into a false sense of security simply by having survived so far.

"The reality is that by quitting cigarettes they can add years to their life."

A smoker giving up at age 65 still adds more than two years to their lifespan.

However, the study shows that hardcore smokers actively defy pressures to quit - 56% resent social pressures to give up and 40% do not think their smoking influences children.

Professor Jarvis said that an intensive anti-smoking campaign in California had proved that even hardcore smokers could be persuaded to kick the habit.

Jean King, director of tobacco control for Cancer Research UK, said: "These older smokers are like EastEnder Dot Cotton - they just keep on smoking, unable to accept their addiction or the damage they are doing to their health.

"But it really is never too late to quit. There is help and advice available from GPs or helplines and a vast array of nicotine replacement therapies available to help people beat their nicotine dependence, many available over the counter."

The research is published in the British Medical Journal.