If you quit smoking when young, you can regain health

The article speaks for itself:

People who quit smoking before the age of 35 can eventually live as long and healthy lives as people who never smoked, a new study shows.

"If you quit by age 35, you avoid nearly all of the harm smoking has on lifespan and quality of life," study author Dr. Donald H. Taylor, Jr., told Reuters Health.

The investigators found that people who were smokers tended to lose more years of healthy life than non-smokers. However, people who had quit smoking at least 15 years before the first interview - between the ages of 35 and 45 --tended to live as many years in good health as people who had never smoked.

Taylor explained that, in order to regain the health they had as non-smokers, people need to butt out for good before they develop health problems. "You can avoid most of the harm by quitting before having a negative health event," Taylor said. "You can't wait until you have a heart attack to quit and reap these benefits."