Are you a smoker and thinking cutting your number of cigarettes to just a few a day will sharply reduce or eliminate your health risks from smoking? Think again.

Results of a new study finds that smoking just one to four cigarettes a day triples your risk for dying from heart disease or lung cancer compared to nonsmokers. The risk for developing lung cancer was even higher for women. Women who smoke one to four cigarettes a day were up to five times more likely to get lung cancer as nonsmokers.

Researchers analyzed the health and death records of nearly 43,000 Norwegian men and women from the mid 1970s through 2002. At the start of the study all the participants were between 35 and 49 years of age. The study appears in the October 2005, issue of Tobacco Control.

American Cancer Society spokes person, Thomas J. Glynn, director of cancer science and trends and international tobacco programs, applauded this research. He noted that the study confirmed that there is no safe level for smoking.

Resources on How to Quit Smoking

National Cancer Institute
Online Guide to Quitting and Smoking Quitline
www.smokefree.gov
Phone: 877-44U-QUIT (877-448-7848), TTY: 1-800-332-8615

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org
Under “Health Information Seekers,” select “quitting smoking.” Then select “Kick the Habit.”
Call 1-800-ACS-2345 for the number of the telephone “quitline” or other support in your area.

CDC Tobacco and Prevention Source
www.cdc.gov/tobacco
“You Can Quit Smoking Consumer Guide”
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit/canquit.htm

American Lung Association
Freedom From Smoking® free online smoking cessation program
www.lungusa.org
Select “Quit Smoking” from the top menu. At the next page, select “FFS Online Program” from the left menu.

Also, contact your health care provider for information on quit-smoking programs in your community.

Source:  Wellness News You Can Use, National Wellness Institute, October 2005.