Study: Light smoking still increases health risks

You don't need to be a pack-a-day smoker to face an increased risk of dying from a smoking-related illness. Research shows that smoking just a few cigarettes per day can still kill you.

Many smokers believe that smoking just a few cigarettes per day doesn't carry the same health risks as heavy smoking. But in a study published in the journal Tobacco Control, a team of Norwegian researchers found that smoking one to four cigarettes per day can significantly increase the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes.

The researchers tracked more than 23,500 men and 19,200 women who were free of heart disease and between the ages of 35 and 49 in the 1970s. At the start of the study, participants were screened for heart disease by checking their history, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other factors. Participants were also asked about their daily smoking habits and divided into seven categories: zero, 1 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 14, 15 to 19, 20 to 24, and 25 or more cigarettes per day. Former and occasional smokers were not included in the study.

The participants were then followed until 2002, during which period more than 9,000 participants died from all causes, including heart disease and lung cancer.

After analysing their data and accounting for differences in such factors as age, blood pressure, physical activity and others, the researchers found significant differences between people who said they didn't smoke at all and people who smoked at a level believed by many to be safe.

For both men and women, the risk of dying from heart disease was nearly tripled among those who reported smoking one to four cigarettes per day, compared to those who didn't smoke at all. As well, the risk of dying from lung cancer was nearly tripled for men who were light smokers, while it was more than five times as high for women who smoked one to four cigarettes per day as it was for women who didn't smoke.

"Smoking control policymakers and health educators should emphasize more strongly that light smokers also endanger their health," wrote the researchers. "Five cigarettes per day is not a threshold value for daily cigarette consumption that must be exceeded before serious health consequences occur."

Source: Canada.com
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