Even smokers over the age of 60 can rapidly reduce their risk of dying from heart disease if they kick the habit, research has found.

Generally smokers increase their risk of heart attack and stroke with every cigarette they smoke, scientists from the German Cancer Research Centre (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) said.

Twice as many smokers die from cardiovascular disease than life-long non-smokers do, but this drops for those who have quit − with the risk for former smokers only 1.3 times that of people who have never smoked in their lives.

The research also found that while smokers who die from heart disease are, on average, five-and-a-half years younger than non-smokers who die from it, the age for former smokers drops to just two years younger than life-long non-smokers.

In the first five years after smoking the last cigarette, the risks decrease significantly, and the more time that has passed since a former smoker has quit, the more considerable the decrease in their risk of dying from heart attack or stroke, they said.

The research, described as the most comprehensive study ever on the impact of smoking on cardiovascular disease in older people, saw 25 different studies involving more than half a million people aged 60 plus analysed.

Hermann Brenner, who led it, said: “It is never too late to stop smoking.

“Even people in the highest age-group still gain considerable health benefits from it.

“Many heart attacks and strokes, with all their serious consequences, could be prevented this way.”

Christopher Allen, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “The evidence that smoking causes significant harm to your heart is overwhelming.

“This study further emphasises just how important it is that we do everything in our power to quit.

“Giving up can potentially add years to your life and, as this research suggests, the benefits can be felt at any age, so it’s never too late to kick the habit.”