Over a mean follow-up time of 4.26 years, 874,120 person-years accrued and 5,593 deaths occurred. The RR (95% CI) of dying during the follow-up period, adjusting for age, socioeconomic factors, alcohol intake, and BMI, was 2.96 (2.69–3.25) in current versus never-smokers overall, and 2.82 (2.49–3.19) and 3.08 (2.63–3.60) in men and women, respectively (Figure 2). The adjusted RRs in past versus never-smokers were 1.43 (1.35–1.52) overall and 1.34 (1.24–1.45) and 1.54 (1.40–1.70) in men and women, respectively (Figure 2). Although the absolute rates of death were higher for men than for women, the RRs relating to current and past smoking did not differ substantively between the sexes; nor did they vary materially according to birth cohort, from 1920–1959 (Figure 2). The results remained similar following exclusion of individuals with a history of admission to hospital with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory illness; compared to never-smokers, RRs of mortality were 2.76 (2.42–3.14) and 2.95 (2.50–3.49) in male and female current smokers, respectively, with corresponding RRs in past smokers of 1.27 (1.17–1.37) and 1.39 (1.25–1.55). RRs did
