How is life lost calculated in the Smoking Impact Simulator?

The simulator estimates minutes of life lost using published British Medical Journal (BMJ) epidemiological cohort research (Shaw M et al., BMJ 2000; Doll R et al., BMJ 2004), which estimates an average of 11 minutes of life lost per cigarette smoked.

What are pack-years and how is lung damage visually rendered?

One pack-year equals 20 cigarettes per day smoked for one year. Visual lung damage ratio scales up to a reference maximum of 40 pack-years, adjusting SVG alveolar coloration from healthy pink to deep tar disfigurement.

Does this simulator constitute personal medical advice?

No. All estimates are based on statistical population averages for educational and awareness purposes. Individual health outcomes depend on genetic, environmental, and smoking cessation factors.

Smoking Impact Simulator

Enter your smoking history to see the estimated effect on your lungs and life expectancy, based on published research averages.

Cigarettes per day

cigs/day

A standard pack contains 20 cigarettes

Years smoked

years

Estimated life lost

—

How this is calculated

Minutes lost = cigs/day × years × 365 × 11

Lung damage = min((cigs/day ÷ 20 × years) ÷ 40, 1)

11 min/cigarette: Shaw et al. 2000; Doll et al. 2004.
40 pack-years = near-maximum visual damage reference.

Thinking about quitting? Free, confidential support is available.

smokefree.gov →

No damage entered