Smoking as few as two to five cigarettes a day may more than double your risk for serious health problems compared with not smoking at all, according to researchers from the American Heart Association’s Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science.
Looking at data from more than 320,000 adults followed for 20 years, the researchers also found that “light smokers” had a 60% increased risk of death from any cause compared with participants who were nonsmokers.
Additionally, the study revealed that it can take 30-plus years after quitting smoking to get back to baseline health after quitting.
“The message here is clear – don’t smoke – and for those who do, quit early in life and strive to quit entirely versus smoking less, because even occasional use of tobacco has substantial health consequences,” said Stacey E. Rosen, volunteer president of the AHA and senior vice president of women’s health and executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health of Northwell Health in New York City.
The study was published in the journal PLOS Medicine.