⏳ The longer you've smoked, the more quitting means
"It's too late now" is sometimes a kind escape route. The longer you smoked, the more quitting means.
People who have smoked for decades carry the phrase "it's too late now."
It looks like resignation, but I think it's something slightly different. Precisely because some part of you knows you'd be better off stopping, you prepare the reason it's too late in advance. Can a body that smoked for thirty years really change if I quit at this point? You reach your own verdict before a doctor gets the chance to.
The public health bodies abroad reach a different one.
The WHO explains that there is benefit in quitting even for people who already have a smoking-related health problem. It shows a gain in life expectancy for people who quit at 30, 40, 50 and 60. Quitting isn't only for the young.