Even One Cigarette Can Kill You: Study Finds Even 'Light' Smokers May Die Early

Smoking one cigarette is no different than smoking one pack a day. A new study has found out that smokers who smoke less than heavy and chain smokers are still more likely to have shorter life than non-smokers.

According to Fox News, the National Cancer Institute located in Rockville, Maryland has concluded that there is no safe level when it comes to smoking cigarettes. Maki Inoue-Choi, the author who headed the study, says that people who smoke, even less than a cigarette a day, are still prone to early death compared to non-smokers.

The study has also proven that "light" smokers who smoke less than half or less than a pack of cigarettes a day are part of majority of smokers. Meanwhile, smokers who are trying to quit start at smoking less, but have a tendency to retain this pattern thus, never really being able to quit.

"Light" smokers, according to the study, have 64% higher risk of early death, says Time. On the other hand, those who smoke a maximum of ten cigarettes or half a pack a day have 87% risk of dying early. Both are compared to those who do not smoke.

The study also found out that those who smoke even less than a cigarette stick a day are nine times more likely to acquire and die of lung cancer while 12 times higher for those who smoke half a pack or more daily.

The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine journal, stating that smokers are not only prone to lung cancer, but cardiovascular disease as well, reports NBC News. Meanwhile, the study has proven that the sooner people who smoke quit their habit, the lower the risk it poses to their health.

Another researcher, on the other hand, said that the message of the study if for smokers to stop smoking, regardless of how many packs of cigarettes they consume and how often they smoke. This is because the sooner smokers quit, the sooner they save their health from the risks and make their lives longer.