Shocking new health warning issued to people who smoke two cigarettes a day
Unfortunately for smokers, two cigarettes a day don't keep the doctor away - they send you to an early grave, according to a new study.
Although you might presume puffing a couple of cigs here and there won't do you much harm, scientists at Johns Hopkins University say this couldn't be further from the truth.
Experts have now warned that 'even low doses confer large risks', so sparking up can be just as much of a hazard to the health of social smokers as it is to people getting through dozens a day.
In a bid to get to the bottom of the impact different 'smoking intensities' have on people, researchers analysed the smoking habits of over 300,000 men and women for a period of almost 20 years.
Advert
People who consume between two and five cigs per day - or one to two packs per week - were classed as 'low intensity' smokers in the study.
The team, led by Professor of Cardiology and Epidemiology Dr Michael Blaha, found that those who smoked as few as two cigs a day raised their risk of meeting their maker prematurely by 60 per cent.
Which is quite a significant price to pay for a quick draw on a cigarette, don't you think?
As well as this, the research published in the Plos Medicine journal found that they were 50 per cent more likely to end up with heart disease in comparison to those who have never smoked.
"The findings of our research underscore the assertion that no level of smoking is without risk," researchers said. "Even occasional or low-intensity smoking significantly increases cardiovascular and mortality risks."
And despite a lot of people thinking that reducing the amount they smoke will therefore reduce the damage they inflict on their bodies, the study suggests otherwise.
It found that former smokers who had kicked the habit still had an increased risk of heart disease more than 20 years later.
Dr Blaha's team said: "It is remarkable how harmful smoking is, and even low doses confer large risks. It is imperative to quit smoking as early in life as possible.
"The amount of time passed since complete cessation (stopping smoking) is more important than a lower quantity of cigarettes each day," the experts explained.
"The main public health message for smokers should be early cessation, rather than reducing the amount of smoking."
The co-author of the study, Dr Erfan Tasdighi, also echoed these warnings, explaining that smokers should aim to stop altogether rather than cut back.
"We actually have the evidence to say that even less than one cigarette a day can increase different multiple cardiovascular outcomes, and it's not something that's clinically insignificant," he told ABC News.
And despite the study suggesting that the damage done by smoking might not reverse itself as quickly as we thought, Dr Tasdighi said it still offers immediate health benefits.
"It's important that people know that when they stop smoking, their risk goes down immediately and significantly," he added.
Olivia Burke