How much damage can smoking do?

It shouldn’t be any secret that smoking can cause significant lung damage, but new research has revealed that tobacco in any form also significantly raises the risk of non-fatal heart attacks.

This conclusion was reached as a result of a comparative study of 12,133 patients who had their first heart attack, and 14,435 people of similar age and sex without a history of heart disease.

The study suggests that smokers have triple the risk of a heart attack compared with those who have never smoked. The increased risk was directly related to the amount of cigarettes smoked per day. Smoking 20 or more cigarettes per day increased the risk of heart attack by almost 5 times.

The study also found that younger individuals who smoked were more likely to have a heart attack compared to older smokers.

For former smokers, the heart attack risk gradually decreased after smoking but there was still a 22% increased risk in smokers who quit 20 or more years ago.

Passive smoking, chewing tobacco, smokeless tobacco, filtered or non-filtered tobacco were all considered risky.

Remember: Tobacco use is one of the most important avoidable causes of heart attacks worldwide. Avoid tobacco and second hand smoke to lower your risk of heart disease.

Source: The Lancet 2006; 368:647-58.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673606692490/abstract