Smoking even just one cigarette a day carries substantial risks

New Delhi, Jan 29 (ANI): Who doesn't know that smoking is injurious to health but fewer understand the harm that one cigarette can cause. A single smoke can harm your body in ways incomprehensible to people. The researchers analysed 141 cigarette-smoking related studies and crunched the number of cigarettes people smoke and their subsequent health risks. It was discovered that the people who lit just one fag a day are 74 percent more likely to develop coronary heart disease than the people who do not smoke at all. Incidentally, people who smoke 20 cigarettes a day came out with double the chances of heart-related diseases than the non-smokers. It was also found that people who smoked just one cigarette a day were 30 percent more likely to have a stroke than non-smokers. The researchers reported that the chemicals in cigarette damage the function and structure of blood vessels, increasing the build-up of wavy plaque or the risk of arteriosclerosis. The study is published in journal BMJ.