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“Deadly” Cigarettes

Published on July 22, 2008 2:35 AM

According to Norwegian researchers smoking one to four cigarettes a day multiplies a person’s risk of dying of heart disease. They suggest the health impact is stronger for women. And even “light” smokers face similar diseases as heavier smokers have, including cancer.

“Deadly” cigarettesThe researchers tracked the death and health rates of almost 43,000 women and men from the mid 1970s up to 2002. Compared with those who had never smoked, the women and men who smoked between 1 and 4 cigarettes a day were almost 3 times as likely to die of coronary artery disease. Smoking one and more cigarettes daily raised the chance of dying from lung cancer almost 5 times. Men who smoked the same quantity were almost 3 times as likely to be killed by lung cancer. Even “light” smokers also have a higher risk of dying from any cause – 1.5 times higher generally – in comparison with those who had never smoked. They indicated that the risk of death from coronary artery illness for both women and men would have been 7% higher and the risk of lung cancer would have been 47% higher in women.

Author Dr Kjell Bjartveit also said that: “It was not possible to tell from the findings what impact sporadic smoking – such as a few cigarettes on a Saturday night out – might have on health.” Dr Ken Denson of the Thame Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research Foundation said: “Other large studies had not found that smoking fewer than 10 cigarettes daily increased the risk of heart disease.” Amanda Sandford from Action on Smoking and Health said: “This study should dispel the myth once and for all that smoking just a few cigarettes a day won’t do you any harm. Quite simply, there is no safe level of smoking.” A spokesman from the British Medical Association said: “All smokers are putting their health on the line when they smoke – even if they only define themselves as social smokers. The only way to protect smokers from heart disease, cancer and other killer diseases is to quit completely.”

Jean King of Cancer Research UK said: “Although more research is needed, this study suggests that the health implications for ‘light smokers’ are much more serious than previously thought. This is particularly worrying as a third of smokers in the UK – an estimated 3.7 million people – smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day.”

According to the Department of Health, 106,000 people die every year in the UK as a direct result of smoking. The only way to avoid the serious health risks is to give up smoking.