Smoking is really unhealthy, to the point that it can dominate other factors, including amount of wealth, in shortening lifespan. University of California researchers found the percentage of Americans surviving from age 65 to 85 was 19 percentage points higher for someone with at least $300,000 in wealth than for those with no assets. However, there was a 37 percentage point difference between those who never smoked and current smokers. The wealth-related disparity in mortality was larger than the disparities by education, occupation, income, or childhood socioeconomic status, but smoking made the biggest difference among all factors. Study author Dana Glei adds, “Our results suggest that even if wealth has a causal effect on mortality, it cannot compete with the impact of smoking. If you want to live longer, you better avoid the cancer sticks.”
