Smoking has been closely implicated in many cardiovascular, lung and other diseases which are prevalent in the elderly, but most prevention programmes tend to be aimed at younger age groups.

The prevention of smoking in retired people is a subject which is not yet fully researched, but there is a little information which suggests that it may be a worthwhile pursuit. Certainly, work has shown that longevity can be improved even in older people by stopping smoking. Coronary heart disease death rates for 65-74 year olds who have recently given up are similar to non-smokers. For other causes of death, especially lung cancer and bronchitis, the benefits of stopping smoking take up to five years to appear. In terms of morbidity, there are suggestions that ex-smokers move reasonably quickly towards the state of non-smokers for bone density, pulmonary function and muscle strength.