It is an illusion to think that light smoking – less than five cigarettes per day, won’t harm one’s health. Even only one cigarette a day still has nearly half the risk of smoking 20 a day.

 

Recent research done by the University College London has analyzed 141 studies to evaluate the relative risk of smoking one, five or 20 cigarettes per day on the risk of heart attack and stroke. The most surprising result was that for men, relative to non-smokers, even one cigarette day had 45% (women 31%) of the risk of developing coronary heart disease, as well as 41% (34% for woman) of the risk of stroke that is associated with the relative risk of smoking 20 a day.

 

Smokers should aim to quit, instead of simply cutting down the number of cigarettes smoked per day, to significantly reduce their risk of these two common major cardiovascular disorders.

 

 

Sources:

 

Even one cigarette a day is too many. Published July 2018 in Harvard Women’s Health Watch. Harvard Medical School. (www.health.harvard.edu)

 Low cigarette consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: meta-analysis of 141 cohort studies in 55 study reports. Published 24 January 2018 in The BMJ. (www.bmj.com)  (The BMJ is an international general medical journal for medical professionals and institutions.  Formerly the British Medical Journal.)

 

 

HEALTH INSIGHT

July 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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