If you or someone you know has been smoking for years and thinks it's too late to quit… listen up.

A new study shows that women who quit smoking can see a dramatic decrease in their risk of death from smoking related illnesses within just five years.

Lesley Miller tries to live a healthy lifestyle, but there is one big problem… she’s a smoker.

So, she's trying to quit.

And a new study says it's not too late for her to reverse some of smoking’s deadliest consequences.

Researchers at Harvard University looked at data from more than 100,000 women collected from 1980 through 2004, and found those who quit smoking significantly reduced their risk of death within just a few years of quitting.

Twenty years after most risks were equal to that of someone who never smoked.

The biggest and quickest decreases were for the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Even the risk of lung cancer death was down 21% in the first five years after quitting, down 87% by year thirty.

For Lesley Miller it may be the motivation she's been looking for.

Doctors say she's right... It really may be her life she's holding in her hands.