Cutting back on fags still kills you

A Norwegian study has found that cutting back on cigarettes has no impact on whether people develop a smoking-related illness with the only way to avoid health risks being to quit altogether. It’s one of the largest and longest studies on smoking and has completely dismissed the notion that fewer cigarettes means lower risk.

The study tracked 50,000 people over more than 20 years and found heavy smokers and smokers who cut down were just as likely to die of heart disease or cancer.

Professor Simon Chapman from Sydney University’s School of Public Health said social smokers or those who are cutting back were in denial about the risks.
“Twenty six per cent of people today, who say that they smoke, only smoke occasionally or socially, and many of those people probably believe that they’re probably not doing themselves an awful lot of harm. But in fact, this study suggests that unless you stop, you really are kidding yourself if you think you’re reducing your harm.”

Professor Chapman said that there were no health benefits whatsoever in cutting back.

“This study shows that the people who cut back by even more than half had the same all cause mortality death rates and that included all the cancers which are caused by smoking: heart disease, respiratory diseases and so forth, as people who continue to be heavy smokers throughout the whole period.”