In some studies, at the end of them, I see:
“quitting smoking reduces your chance of dying from all causes.”
So if I quit smoking I’m less likely to get hit by a bus?
from every possible thing that can happen to you while smoking…
cancer while smoking COVID while smoking caught in fascist riots while smoking hit by bus while smoking bear attack while smoking container dropped from a plane while smoking etc
Smoking puts you out in the world which increases a lot of risks you wouldn’t otherwise have.
I’d hate to get attacked by a smoking bear 🐻
Ok, I get it. I don’t smoke or attend fascist parties so I’m good for awhile, maybe.
Thanks.
Do whatever you can to prevent forest fires and you have nothing to fear from Smoky the Bear.
As a former ICU nurse I can tell you that someone who has been taking good care of their body, is fit and healthy, has a better chance of survival and less complications while recovering as someone who didn’t. No matter the injury.
If you get hit by a bus and your lung is compromised it has a harder time compensating for the injury if it was already damaged.
So yes. You might have a better chance to survive a car crash if you haven’t been smoking.
Yeah. Came here to write exactly this.
What OP misunderstood is the old tale of mortality vs. lethality.
In a simplified explanation: Mortality defines the percentage of deaths in a population by a cause.
Lethality is the percentage of deaths of people suffering from a cause.
In our case:
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Smokers might only get hit by a bus slightly less often or slightly more often(1) (Mortality)
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But they have a far greater chance of dying from it when they get hit. The same can be said for being shot,etc. Being a smoker always reduces your statistical chances.
(1:Actually quite fascinating - there is conflicting evidence on that one, as smoking is often statistically associated with substance abuse and bad health - which increases the likelihood of major trauma events, but on the other hand smokers die earlier,leaving more old people to walk in front of vehicles due to reduced cognitive abilities)
We must do something about all these old people getting run over by buses.
smoking is often statistically associated with substance abuse and bad health - which increases the likelihood of major trauma events, but on the other hand smokers die earlier,leaving more old people to walk in front of vehicles due to reduced cognitive abilities)
So what about if we control for age? Are old smokers more or less likely to get hit by a bus than old non-smokers?
Quick, someone do an RCT.
You might have a better chance to survive a car crash if you haven’t been smoking.
That’s probably why I’ve survived so many car crashes.
It sounds a bit like your poor driving is the cause for you to survive so many car crashes.
But not poor enough to cause any fatal crashes. There’s a driving skill sweet spot where you have maximum crash survival.
There’s your problem. I haven’t survived a car crash since I started smoking!
Let’s say you’re a smoker and your workplace says you have to go outside to smoke.
It’s the middle of November, it’s cold, it’s rainy, you’re outside smoking and get pneumonia.
Your lungs are already weak from smoking and the pneumonia kills you.
If you quit smoking, you would have been inside, dry, safe, less likely to contract pneumonia and less likely to die from it if you get it.
Your chance of dying from all causes is just your overall chance of dying.
I’m going to echo korimee, and add that it’s statistics.
When you’re tallying causes of death, like cancer, heart disease, stroke, organ failure, pathogens, whatever; if you factor in whether or not people smoke, smokers die younger from those things, and are a higher percentage of deaths like that as opposed to old age.
Non smokers get those things later, statistically, and have better chances of not only surviving, but recovering. Take stroke as an example. On average, the chances of severe disability from a stroke goes up the more risk factors you have. Smokers are less likely to survive a stroke, and if they do, have worse outcomes when they’re stabilized. Then they have less resilience during the recovery process, leading to worse disability statistically.
The final question you asked only applies obliquely, and others have covered that it would only apply in limited cases. Accidental death, the uptick for smokers is essentially meaningless. For the specific “hit by a bus” kind of accidental death, distraction is how it usually happens anyway, but smokers trying to light up might have a slight extra chance of distraction, but I couldn’t see any data on that with a quick DDG search
