We were already working on a story on the relationship between smoking and well-being when we realized the American Cancer Society marks its 34th annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday. On its Web site, the ACS lists more than a few good reasons to quit smoking -- all of them having to do with benefits for physical health.
Our story today adds to that list of reasons, revealing how much better nonsmokers fare than smokers in terms of overall well-being beyond just physical health. We cut the data by income to make sure income wasn't the driving factor in what are truly remarkable findings.
Our story and analysis by Brett Pelham reveals that, across all income brackets, the difference in "net thriving" -- which is the percentage who are classified as "thriving" minus the percentage who are "suffering" -- is consistent and substantial. Not only do nonsmokers do better across the board, Pelham finds that "for those making less than $60,000 per year, not smoking appears to be the equivalent of moving up one income category in evaluative well-being. What's more, nonsmokers making between $60,000 and $90,000 per year have higher well-being than smokers in the top income bracket."
See full Article.
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