Smokers, as well as former smokers, who survive into old age, are at a heightened risk for non-life threatening ailments that can reduce quality of life and expand the need for health services, according to a cohort study conducted by Dr. Benjamin A. Shaw, associate professor at the University at Albany SUNY School of Public Health, in conjunction with the Aging Research Center at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The study, “Smoking trajectories from midlife to old age and the development of non-life threatening health problems: A 34-year prospective cohort study” was published in the journal Preventive Medicine. While several previous studies have reported and confirmed correlations between tobacco smoking and numerous life-threatening diseases, this study uniquely investigates the association between smoking trajectories, including the amount and continuance of smoking, and the progression of three prevalent non-life threatening conditions: mobility impairment, musculoskeletal pain, and symptoms of psychological distress.