Smoking cessation for the older patient: it is never too late

Smoking accounts for 18% of all deaths in adults aged 35 or older and costs the NHS £5‹…2 billion a year (5% of the total health-care costs). Health-care professionals are ideally placed to help reduce these figures by encouraging patients who smoke to quit. Older patients should not be excluded from receiving smoking cessation support because, regardless of their age or length of habit, they can still benefit from giving up.