Even the occasional cigarette takes a measurable health toll, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
The US study by Inoue-Choi and colleagues found an elevated risk for all-cause mortality association even in those who smoked only a few cigarettes per month, with the risk increasing with higher cigarette use.
Daily smokers had 2.32 times higher mortality risk, and lifelong nondaily smokers had 1.82 times higher mortality risk, according to the prospective cohort study of 505,500 nationally representative US adults.
Significant associations were observed for 6 to 10 cigarettes per month, according to the researchers, who said their findings support public health recommendations that there is no safe level of smoking and that all smokers, including nondaily and very low-intensity smokers, should quit.
Source: JAMA Network Open
