Light smoking is more dangerous than people think
Some people in Australia now smoke only a couple of cigarettes each day. They might describe themselves as light smokers.
Many people under-estimate the risks of light smoking. They think that by smoking only one or 2 cigarettes a day, the risks known to be caused by smoking don’t apply to them. However, scientific evidence now shows that light smokers have a much higher risk of developing a smoking-related disease than was previously thought.
An Australian study found that compared to people who never smoked, people who smoke just 1 to 5 cigarettes per day had a 9 times higher risk of getting lung cancer.
Smoking just one cigarette a day is dangerous
Smoking just one cigarette a day creates a greater risk of heart disease than most people think.
You might expect someone who smoked 1 cigarette a day would have one-twentieth (1/20) the risk of having a heart attack or a stroke compared to a 20-a-day smoker. However, high-quality scientific research shows that people who smoke just 1 cigarette a day have half the risk (10/20) of those who smoke 20 cigarettes a day.
Even smoking 1 cigarette a day can make your blood sticky and increase your risk of blood clots, to a similar level of that of a heavier smoker. These blood clots can block blood flow, causing heart attacks and strokes. This means that each cigarette you smoke does not add the same amount of risk. When you go from no cigarettes a day to just one cigarette a day, there is a big jump in your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Even occasional smoking is dangerous
Many people in Australia only smoke tobacco occasionally. They don’t usually smoke every day, but just at weekends or when they’re out with friends who smoke. They may call themselves ‘social smokers’ or ‘weekend smokers’.
Smoking occasionally is much more dangerous than not smoking at all and still increases the risk of getting cancer. People who smoke just occasionally have a higher chance of dying from cancer, compared to people who have quit, or who have never smoked.
Occasional smokers also have a high risk of getting cardiovascular diseases. They have a higher chance of dying from cardiovascular diseases than people who have never smoked. This includes dying from heart attacks and strokes.
A high-quality 20-year study from the United States shows some interesting evidence about the effects of occasional smoking:
- Occasional smokers (for example ‘only on the weekend’) had almost double the risk of dying than that of people who never smoked.
- Long-term daily smokers had just over double the risk of dying compared to that of people who had never smoked.
The occasional smokers in this study smoked an average of 50 cigarettes per month. On average, they smoked on 15 days of each month.
It’s much safer to not smoke, than it is to smoke occasionally. Even occasional smokers reduce their risk of smoking-related diseases when they quit. To cut their chances of an early death, people who are light smokers or who smoke only occasionally need to stop smoking completely.
Why is light or occasional smoking so dangerous?
Scientists have discovered some of the reasons why even light or occasional smoking is so dangerous.
Chemicals in smoke cause cancer
The chemicals from cigarette smoke that cause cancer are damaging even at low levels.
DNA is the cell’s instruction manual. It tells your cells what to do and how to replace themselves. This allows your body to continuously heal itself and stay healthy.
Toxic chemicals from cigarette smoke cause DNA mutations. This damage changes the way a cell behaves. Once a cell collects too many DNA mutations, it turns into a tumour cell – this is the start of cancer.
Damage caused by chemicals in cigarette smoke to the DNA in your cells can start as quickly as 30 minutes after smoking just one cigarette.
Chemicals in tobacco can cause cancer
Tobacco carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) cause the damage that leads to cancer even if you only smoke at very low levels. It could be the next time you smoke ‘just one’ cigarette that triggers the damage that leads to cancer.
Scientific research has shown that the tobacco chemicals that cause cancer are found at dangerous levels even in light smokers. Light smokers are more likely to get cancer than people who have never smoked, and are also more likely to die from cancer than people who have never smoked.
Change in blood cells causes heart disease
Scientists have discovered one very important way that light smoking causes damage to your heart and blood vessels. Smoking causes blood to become more ‘sticky,’ increasing the risk of a blood clot. The process is called platelet aggregation.
Even smoking 1 cigarette a day can increase platelet aggregation to a similar level to that of a heavier smoker. Because of this greater level of platelet aggregation, light smokers have a higher risk of dying from heart disease than people who never smoke.
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