By Dr. Brian McDonough

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - According to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine smokers loose at least 10 years of life expectancy compared to non-smokers.

The report is based on a study looking at 114,000 women and 89,000 men 25 years of age or older who were interviewed between 1997 and 2004 in the US National Health Interview Survey.

The authors also found that smoking cessation efforts at an earlier age are justified because what they found is quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduced the risk of death associated with continued smoking by about 90-percent.