in lighter news - i am going to die
THURSDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- There's sobering news for "light" smokers, or smokers who decide to cut down rather than quit: A new study finds that smoking just one to four cigarettes per day nearly triples risks for dying of heart disease or lung cancer.
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The study dispels the notion that so-called "light" smokers aren't threatened by the serious health problems faced by heavy smokers.
Reporting in the current issue of Tobacco Control, researchers analyzed health and mortality data on nearly 43,000 men and women collected from the mid 1970s until 2002. All the people were between 35 and 49 years of age at the start of the study.
Compared with people who'd never smoked, those who smoked one to four cigarettes a day were nearly three times as likely to die of heart disease. Men who were light smokers were nearly three times as likely to die of lung cancer, while women who were light smokers were nearly five times as likely to be killed by lung cancer, compared with non-smokers.
The study also found that light smokers were at a 50 percent higher death rate from all causes than people who'd never smoked.
ADVERTISEMENT
The study dispels the notion that so-called "light" smokers aren't threatened by the serious health problems faced by heavy smokers.
Reporting in the current issue of Tobacco Control, researchers analyzed health and mortality data on nearly 43,000 men and women collected from the mid 1970s until 2002. All the people were between 35 and 49 years of age at the start of the study.
Compared with people who'd never smoked, those who smoked one to four cigarettes a day were nearly three times as likely to die of heart disease. Men who were light smokers were nearly three times as likely to die of lung cancer, while women who were light smokers were nearly five times as likely to be killed by lung cancer, compared with non-smokers.
The study also found that light smokers were at a 50 percent higher death rate from all causes than people who'd never smoked.