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“There is no safe level of smoking”—that’s the conclusion of National Cancer Institute researchers, based on data from 290,215 adults in the 2004-2005 NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. “[S]moking even a small number of cigarettes per day has substantial negative health effects,” said Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, lead author.
The participants responded to a questionnaire that assessed lifetime smoking intensity. Those who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day had an 87% higher risk of earlier death. But even people who smoked an average of < 1 cigarette per day over their lifetime still had a 64% higher risk of earlier death, compared with never-smokers.
The researchers also looked at specific causes of death. Not surprisingly, they found a “particularly strong” association for lung cancer mortality. But again, even people who consistently averaged < 1 cigarette per day over their lifetime had 9 times the risk of dying from lung cancer than never-smokers. Among those who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day, the risk of dying from lung cancer was nearly 12 times higher.
People who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day also had > 6 times the risk of dying from respiratory disease and about 1 and a half times the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, compared with never-smokers.
The younger people were when they quit smoking, the lower their risk of early death.
“There is no safe level of smoking”—that’s the conclusion of National Cancer Institute researchers, based on data from 290,215 adults in the 2004-2005 NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. “[S]moking even a small number of cigarettes per day has substantial negative health effects,” said Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, lead author.
The participants responded to a questionnaire that assessed lifetime smoking intensity. Those who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day had an 87% higher risk of earlier death. But even people who smoked an average of < 1 cigarette per day over their lifetime still had a 64% higher risk of earlier death, compared with never-smokers.
The researchers also looked at specific causes of death. Not surprisingly, they found a “particularly strong” association for lung cancer mortality. But again, even people who consistently averaged < 1 cigarette per day over their lifetime had 9 times the risk of dying from lung cancer than never-smokers. Among those who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day, the risk of dying from lung cancer was nearly 12 times higher.
People who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day also had > 6 times the risk of dying from respiratory disease and about 1 and a half times the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, compared with never-smokers.
The younger people were when they quit smoking, the lower their risk of early death.
“There is no safe level of smoking”—that’s the conclusion of National Cancer Institute researchers, based on data from 290,215 adults in the 2004-2005 NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. “[S]moking even a small number of cigarettes per day has substantial negative health effects,” said Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, lead author.
The participants responded to a questionnaire that assessed lifetime smoking intensity. Those who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day had an 87% higher risk of earlier death. But even people who smoked an average of < 1 cigarette per day over their lifetime still had a 64% higher risk of earlier death, compared with never-smokers.
The researchers also looked at specific causes of death. Not surprisingly, they found a “particularly strong” association for lung cancer mortality. But again, even people who consistently averaged < 1 cigarette per day over their lifetime had 9 times the risk of dying from lung cancer than never-smokers. Among those who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day, the risk of dying from lung cancer was nearly 12 times higher.
People who smoked between 1 and 10 cigarettes a day also had > 6 times the risk of dying from respiratory disease and about 1 and a half times the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, compared with never-smokers.
The younger people were when they quit smoking, the lower their risk of early death.