Smoking, drinking and inactivity associated with declines in health in people as young as 36

 Bad habits such as smoking, heavy drinking and lack of exercise must be tackled as early as possible to boost the odds of a happy and healthy old age.

That is the message of a new peer-reviewed study, published in the Annals of Medicine (Elevate), that found smoking and other vices are associated with declines in health in people as young as 36.

The impact is even greater when these bad habits are indulged in over the long-term, state experts whose study tracked the mental and physical health of hundreds of people for more than 30 years.