--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They proved that if you quit smoking, it…" description: "\"They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your life. What they haven't proved is that a prolonged life is a good thing. I haven't seen the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/bill-hicks-970_cigarette_they-proved-that-if-you-quit-smoking-it_2307707.jpg" --- # They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your… ![“They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your life. What they haven't proved is that a prolonged life is a good thing. I haven't seen the stats on that yet.” quote by Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/bill-hicks-970_cigarette_they-proved-that-if-you-quit-smoking-it_2307707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/bill-hicks-970_cigarette_they-proved-that-if-you-quit-smoking-it_2307707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/bill-hicks-970_cigarette_they-proved-that-if-you-quit-smoking-it_2307707.jpg) > “They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your life. What they haven't proved is that a prolonged life is a good thing. I haven't seen the stats on that yet.” [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Quitting smoking extends life, but longevity alone isn’t inherently valuable without quality. **In simple terms:** Longer life isn’t automatically better. Key Takeaway Consider life quality, not just length. Themes health longevity quality of life Mood thoughtful critical Type comedian philosophical When to use this quote - smoking cessation - healthcare decisions - ethical debates Key Concepts ethical philosophical Questions to Reflect On - Is a longer life worth living if unhealthy? - How do you define a good life? A Different Perspective Longevity may bring suffering if health is poor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cigarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) [Comedian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedian/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Havens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/havens/) [Humorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorists/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Prolong Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prolong-life-751513/) [Prolonged Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prolonged-life-926198/) [Prolonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prolonging/) [Proved Prolonged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proved-prolonged-5469515/) [Proven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proven/) [Quit smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quit-smoking/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) [Smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking/) [Smoking Prolong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-prolong-5469514/) ## Related quotes > [It is the duty of a doctor to prolong life and it is not his duty to prolong the act of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/it-is-the-duty-of-a-doctor-to-prolong-life-and-it-is-not-his-duty-to/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“He died a modern death, in hospital,…after medical science had prolonged his life to a point where the terms on which it was being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/he-died-a-modern-death-in-hospital-after-medical-science-had/) [julian barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Whereas a prolonged life is not necessarily better, a prolonged death is necessarily worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/whereas-a-prolonged-life-is-not-necessarily-better-a-prolonged-death/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“She will prolong her life by the length of her story, even though time will wear on inexorably as she tells it, thus depriving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/she-will-prolong-her-life-by-the-length-of-her-story-even-though-time/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) > [The whole thrust of science and the medical profession is to try and prevent it from happening, to try to prolong life, to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/the-whole-thrust-of-science-and-the-medical-profession-is-to-try-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [This is a steady, ceaseless process, impossible to contain as long as the economy driven by the endless accumulation of capital. The system may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/this-is-a-steady-ceaseless-process-impossible-to-contain-as-long-as/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [Embryonic stem cell research will prolong life, improve life and give hope for life to millions of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ramstad/embryonic-stem-cell-research-will-prolong-life-improve-life-and-give/) [Jim Ramstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ramstad/) > [Most of the debate over the cultures of death and life is about process. The debate focuses on the technology available to determine how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-fields/most-of-the-debate-over-the-cultures-of-death-and-life-is-about/) [Suzanne Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-fields/) > [I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-want-to-go-when-i-want-it-is-tasteless-to-prolong-life-artificially/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The prime goal is to alleviate suffering, and not to prolong life. And if your treatment does not alleviate suffering, but only prolongs life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiaan-barnard/the-prime-goal-is-to-alleviate-suffering-and-not-to-prolong-life-and/) [Christiaan Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiaan-barnard/) > [“The average person is in the habit of saying, “The older I get;”’ and he thereby calls the attention of his mind to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-d-larson/the-average-person-is-in-the-habit-of-saying-the-older-i-get-and-he/) [Christian D. Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-d-larson/) > [Modern science & doctors can do a great deal to prolong life. The life span is lengthening, but that is merely postponing the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/modern-science-doctors-can-do-a-great-deal-to-prolong-life-the-life/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [“It is in vain that we can predict and control the course of events in the future, unless we know how to live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/it-is-in-vain-that-we-can-predict-and-control-the-course-of-events-in/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [If I could do this until I was 60, I would. This is a great life. All I do is train, all I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chandler/if-i-could-do-this-until-i-was-60-i-would-this-is-a-great-life-all-i/) [Michael Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chandler/) > [“Whoever invented the ICU should see some of the patients we have here. With reference to the atom bomb, Einstein said, “With the development…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikkael-a-sekeres/whoever-invented-the-icu-should-see-some-of-the-patients-we-have-here/) [Mikkael A. Sekeres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikkael-a-sekeres/) ## More by Bill Hicks > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [not all drugs are good.. some of them are great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/not-all-drugs-are-good-some-of-them-are-great/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/if-you-don-t-think-drugs-have-done-good-things-for-us-then-take-all/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I don't do drugs anymore... than, say, the average touring funk band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-don-t-do-drugs-anymore-than-say-the-average-touring-funk-band/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [How many people disapprove of the job the Conservatives are doing? Seventy percent. Of those same people, how many will vote for them again?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/how-many-people-disapprove-of-the-job-the-conservatives-are-doing/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [BTW A 24 week old embryo is not a human being. You're not a human being until you're in my phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/btw-a-24-week-old-embryo-is-not-a-human-being-you-re-not-a-human/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Christianity has a built-in defense system: anything that questions a belief, no matter how logical the argument is, is the work of Satan by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/christianity-has-a-built-in-defense-system-anything-that-questions-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I'm just trying to rid the world of all these fevered egos that are tainting our collective unconscious...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-m-just-trying-to-rid-the-world-of-all-these-fevered-egos-that-are/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I was told when I grew up I could be anything I wanted: a fireman, a policeman, a doctor – even President, it seemed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-was-told-when-i-grew-up-i-could-be-anything-i-wanted-a-fireman-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Good comedy helps people know they're not alone. Great comedy provides an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/good-comedy-helps-people-know-they-re-not-alone-great-comedy-provides/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [People ask me what I think about that woman priest thing. What, a woman priest? Women priests. Great, great. Now there's priests of both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/people-ask-me-what-i-think-about-that-woman-priest-thing-what-a-woman/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Oh sorry, I was taking life seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/oh-sorry-i-was-taking-life-seriously/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I can't watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-can-t-watch-tv-longer-than-five-minutes-without-praying-for-nuclear/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I'm not really a heavy smoker any more. I only get through two lighters a day now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-m-not-really-a-heavy-smoker-any-more-i-only-get-through-two/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [You watch the news these days? It's unbelievable. You think you just walk out your door, you're immediately gonna be raped by some crack-addicted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/you-watch-the-news-these-days-it-s-unbelievable-you-think-you-just/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) [Explore all 317 Bill Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## More Cigarette quotes > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Books were always important. I have to thank my father, he filled my life with books. He didn't write but he always read. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/books-were-always-important-i-have-to-thank-my-father-he-filled-my/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [We have too many preacherettes preaching too many sermonettes to too many Christianettes smoking cigarettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/we-have-too-many-preacherettes-preaching-too-many-sermonettes-to-too/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Since I don't smoke, I decided to grow a mustache - it is better for the health. However, I always carried a jewel-studded cigarette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/since-i-don-t-smoke-i-decided-to-grow-a-mustache-it-is-better-for-the/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [If the fact that people make poor decisions is reason enough for the government to second-guess their decisions about dangerous activities such as smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-sullum/if-the-fact-that-people-make-poor-decisions-is-reason-enough-for-the/) [Jacob Sullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-sullum/) > [“When I was young” … “Before I was twenty, I mean, I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/when-i-was-young-before-i-was-twenty-i-mean-i-used-to-think-that-life/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [They represent tomorrow's cigarette business. . . As this 14-24 age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total cigarette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-reynolds/they-represent-tomorrow-s-cigarette-business-as-this-14-24-age-group/) [R. J. Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-reynolds/) > [If all boys could be made to know that with every breath of cigarette smoke they inhale imbecility and exhale manhood ... and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-maxim/if-all-boys-could-be-made-to-know-that-with-every-breath-of-cigarette/) [Hudson Maxim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-maxim/) > [The ratings thing is the real issue. It really hurts movies. For example, in Redbelt, I smoked. The whole plot of my character was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/the-ratings-thing-is-the-real-issue-it-really-hurts-movies-for/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-completely-horizontal-author-i-can-t-think-unless-i-m-lying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [They should give until it hurts, maybe a very small thing, maybe just a packet of cigarettes, but instead of by smoking that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-should-give-until-it-hurts-maybe-a-very-small-thing-maybe-just-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/you-can-accept-or-reject-the-way-you-are-treated-by-other-people-but/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [Then he bummed a cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/then-he-bummed-a-cigarette/) [Kenny Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-rogers/) > [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) [Browse all 787 Cigarette quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your life. What they haven't proved is that a prolonged life is a good thing. 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