“Stop Smoking-It’s never too late” should be accepted as a motto by all the smokers.

This is not a wrong statement. A study reveals that the smokers who have suffered a heart attack, if quit smoking after the attack; can live longer than those who keep smoking. The study was based on 1500 smokers who survived heart attack and managed to quit smoking or lessen the no. of cigarettes.

Israeli researchers found that compared with first-time heart attack sufferers who continued to smoke; those who quit were 37 percent less likely to die during the study period.

The researchers feel that benefits from quitting smoking are much better than the other common therapies to prevent further heart problems -- including cholesterol lowering, and use of aspirin and beta-blocker medications, which lowers the risk of death by anywhere from 15 percent to 29 percent.

The routinely offered smoking-cessation counseling to heart attack patients also helps. Some special courses are also undertaken by some agencies for helping smokers who want to quit. Like the Shawnee County Health Agency is conducting a “Freedom from Smoking” course.