To clarify the potential role of variability within and around the AKT1 gene in smoking behaviors, we performed a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of the AKT1 gene in an elderly Japanese cohort. Genotypes of the rs2498794 SNP, which is located in the fifth intron region of the AKT1 gene, were marginally but significantly associated with smoking duration in the total 999 samples of former and current smokers. Interestingly, this SNP had a marginally significant association with individual cancer history (past and current), especially in groups with a shorter smoking duration (<44 years) and fewer cigarettes per day (≤20). These data suggest that the rs2498794 polymorphism of the AKT1 gene is associated with a long smoking duration and may be involved in the predisposition to cancer when the smoking duration is short or the cigarettes per day is rate low.