September 30, 2025
Global Action Community Newsletter
In many countries, older adults have the highest smoking rates. Yet they’re often overlooked in smoking cessation efforts.
In the U.S., for example, 15% of adults between ages 45 and 64 smoke—the largest percentage of any other age demographic in the country. The second-highest rate of smoking is among those 65 and older at roughly 9%. However, these individuals make up most of smoking-related deaths, likely due to years of combustible tobacco use.
Older adults who smoke stand to gain a lot by stopping. After quitting, people over 55 can enjoy a lower heart rate and blood pressure, easier breathing, and more success in managing conditions such as diabetes. One study found that older adults who quit on average enjoyed an increased life expectancy of about two to three years—that’s a lot of life to live.
The benefits of quitting smoking extend into neurological health, too. Consider Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Age is a major risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s and other dementias—but another major factor is smoking. Smoking damages the body’s vascular system, which in turn increases the risk of stroke, a major risk factor for dementia. Quitting smoking, therefore, may reduce the risk of developing dementia.
Despite these clear health benefits, older people are often left out of conversations about ending the smoking epidemic. Providers avoid broaching the topic with their older patients because they feel uninformed about smoking cessation in this population, or they don’t fully grasp the potential benefits of quitting for someone who has smoked for several decades. Some providers assume that older people are more likely to fail at attempts to quit, or that they simply can’t or won’t try.
Submit a question on the latest quitting research, and we may answer it in an upcoming newsletter.
But research shows that the opposite is true: When older people try to quit, they often succeed. A large study of people over 55 years old in the U.S. found that more than half of those alive at the end of the 20-year study period had successfully quit smoking for at least 2 years. Another study found that even older adults with a low motivation to quit did so successfully more than twice as often as younger adults with low motivation to quit.
It is imperative that we support older adults who smoke—especially those who come from places where smoking is common. Estimates suggest that by 2050, more than 70% of the world’s dementia cases will occur in people who live in low- and middle-income countries. These countries also have the highest rates of smoking. In order to ease the potential burden of dementia, we must support individuals in these spaces to quit using any means possible, whether with traditional nicotine replacement therapies or by switching to reduced-risk nicotine products.
It’s never too late for someone to stop smoking. Even if a person has started to experience health problems from smoking, there are often benefits to quitting, such as better response to treatments, being more likely to recover, and improved quality of life. We have an opportunity to reach out to this group with cessation support, which could potentially add years to their lives shared with loved ones.
All my best,
Dr. Ehsan Latif, M.S.
Senior VP of Grants Management and Health and Science Strategy
Global Action to End Smoking
Did you know?
Get the facts
Although nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes, there are other factors that make it hard to quit. For example, many people feel smoking helps them manage their emotions and stress – which can make it harder to quit.
Nicotine withdrawal can be a stressor. Once the body becomes accumulated to regular doses of nicotine, withdrawal can lead to anxiety and agitation. But also, many people who smoke connect tobacco to certain habits—like smoking in certain settings, with certain people, or when they’re doing certain activities like drinking alcohol or coffee.
When a person who smokes is feeling strong negative emotions, the rituals tied to cigarette use can produce a sense of relief that serves as a distraction from unpleasant feelings, including stress. Unfortunately, this relief is often short-lived.
Fortunately, studies have found that most people who quit successfully either have no additional stress or decreased stress levels in their lives. There are so many ways to quit—including counseling, medications, nicotine replacement therapies, and reduced-risk nicotine products. ways you can quit here.
Tobacco and health around the world
Country snapshot: Argentina
In 2022, an estimated 8.2 million people aged 15 years and older were tobacco users in Argentina. This positions the country as 24th globally and the 4th in the WHO Region of the Americas in terms of number of tobacco users.
- Argentina is the 10th largest global producer of unmanufactured tobacco with 95.6 thousand tons, representing approximately 1.7% of the worldwide production of 5.8 million tons.
- Demand for cigarettes decreased by 34.3% from 51.5 packs per capita in 2010 to 34 packs per capita in 2022.
- In 2021, it was estimated that tobacco was the 2nd highest risk factor driving the most deaths and disability combined in Argentina.
For references and to view other country profiles, visit our pages on Tobacco and Health Around the World.
Thank you for your support
Global Action is proud to take bold action to find global solutions to end death and disease caused by tobacco, particularly combustible cigarettes. We are one of the only public health groups to embrace tobacco harm reduction as a means of meeting adults who smoke where they are, showing them empathy and respect in their individual cessation journeys, and helping them—if they cannot or will not quit—to reduce their risks of death or disease from combustible cigarettes.
Your support increases the impact our grantees’ work can have on this cause. Together, we can build a future where no one suffers from tobacco-related disease.
Thank you for your support in the fight against smoking.
Get to Know Global Action
Global Action has awarded more than 175 grants to institutions that support the work of over 100 scientists, covering 46 countries on four continents.
Our organization is an independent, U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization whose mission is to end combustible tobacco use, which remains the leading preventable cause of death globally. Through September 2023, Global Action received charitable gifts from PMI Global Services Inc. Global Action does not seek or accept funding from companies that produce tobacco or non-medicinal nicotine products.
To learn more about our work, visit our website.
Disclaimer: This newsletter does not provide medical advice. The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained in this newsletter are for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. No material in this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician or other qualified health care provider. Always seek the advice of your licensed physician or other qualified health care provider regarding a medical condition or with any questions you may have regarding treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you read in this newsletter. No physician-patient relationship is created by this newsletter. Global Action doesn’t make representations, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.