Wellness Programs – Quitters Do Win.

Quitting tobacco use at any age can improve a person’s health. and believe it or not, older employees often fair better with tobacco use cessation than younger staff members.  

As reported by the Journal of American Medicine, Duke Univ. reseearchers tracked 573 older patients over 10 years. They found that just 16% of those who joined the smoking cessation program later returned to smoking.  

Previous research has found young smokers who attempt to quit have a 35% to 45% relapse rate within two years.

Given that employees nationwide are retiring later and the cost of retiree health care is sky high, you could want to keep trying with smoking cessation programs, even for the oldest employees on your health plan.