Smoking: no small risk for light smokers
,
Smoking one to four cigarettes a day
is enough to triple or even quintuple for women, the risk of death from
cardiovascular disease or lung cancer, according to a Norwegian study presented
on the website of the journal "Tobacco Control"
Numerous epidemiological studies
have suggested that the severity of disease caused by smoking is associated
with the number of cigarettes, but in most of them, the minimum consumption
evaluated ranged from one to nine or fifteen cigarettes per day, the authors
explain .
Given that only few prospective
studies have evaluated the health consequences of less than five cigarettes
daily consumption, Dr. Kjell Bjartveit, National Screening Service in Oslo, and
Aage Tverdal and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo , conducted a
study in four Norwegian cities (including the capital) to determine the risk of
death associated with consumption of one to four cigarettes per day.
In total, their survey included
23,524 men and 19,201 women. Aged 35 to 49 between 1972 and 1978, these people
then participated in a screening program for cardiovascular risk held in four
cities chosen. In this study, were notably recorded deaths from ischemic heart
disease, lung cancer, all cancers and all causes.
Analysis of these data allowed the
authors found that people who smoke one to four cigarettes per day are at risk
of dying from ischemic heart disease almost tripled compared to people who have
never smoked (multiplied by 2.74 for men and 2.94 for women).
The risk of death from lung cancer
shows also clearly influenced by low tobacco consumption: it is tripled among
light smokers, but especially for small fivefold smokers.
The risk of death from all causes,
it is multiplied by 1.57 for men and 1.47 for women, while the results for the
death by cancer of all types do not prove significant.
The authors note that for all
diseases and levels of smoking assessed the risk of death proves to be lower
for women than for men, except for cardiovascular disease (regardless of the
number of cigarettes smoked per day) for lung cancer (especially for low power
consumption).
If some similar results have been
reported in rare previous studies, the researchers acknowledge that their
analysis could be biased by changes in smoking habits over time. Indeed, some
light smokers may be former heavy smokers and non-smokers at baseline may
become smokers.
Consumption of five cigarettes per
day was considered a threshold beyond which appear serious health problems, but
it is now essential that health authorities and health professionals insist
more strongly on the risks faced by young smokers.
Author: Mohammad
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