The popular myth about smoking turned out to be false

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical Center concluded that simply reducing the number of cigarettes smoked practically does not lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases - only complete smoking cessation brings real benefits.

As reported by TUT.AZ with reference to PLOS Medicine journal, a large-scale study covered data from 22 cohort studies with an impressive number of participants - 323,826 adults. Observations, which continued for almost two decades, recorded more than 125 thousand fatal cases and 54 thousand episodes of cardiovascular diseases.

Researchers conducted a thorough analysis, taking into account smoking duration, daily cigarette consumption, and the period of abstinence from the harmful habit. For this, modern Cox proportional hazards models were applied. Among participants, whose average age was about 60 years, women predominated. At the beginning of the study, 14% were active smokers, almost half (49%) had already given up tobacco, and 36% never had this habit.

Various factors were taken into account: demographic data, body mass index, presence of diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and attitude toward alcohol. The results of the analysis were alarming: even a small number of cigarettes per day significantly increases the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Doctor of Medical Sciences Michael Blaha, who leads clinical research at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, emphasized that the danger for smokers depends on three key factors: smoking experience, the number of cigarettes consumed, and the time passed after quitting tobacco. The scientist particularly noted that only complete smoking cessation can significantly reduce the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases.