That smoking is bad for you and can do serious damage to your health is something most people are aware of. However, a new study shows one can put their body on the line with as few as two cigarettes per day. Now, scientists issue a warning that everyone should read and pass on.
**The Health Risks Are Real—Even for Light Smokers**
The health risks of smoking are widely recognized by authorities and experts. Per the Cleveland Clinic, smoking can affect “everything from the appearance of your skin and nails to how your tissues, organs and even your DNA work.”
It further notes that “the effects of smoking on your body start the moment you light up a cigarette,” as “thousands of chemicals released from burning tobacco start their damaging journey before you’ve even taken a puff.”
Smoking increases the risk for many health conditions such as cancer, lung disease, heart and vascular disease, diabetes, and miscarriage. Secondhand smoke also poses serious risks.
**Even Two Cigarettes a Day Is Dangerous**
While full-time smoking is very bad for you, even smoking just two cigarettes a day turns out to be extremely harmful. Scientists have now issued a major warning about the dangers of smoking “only” a few.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University examined the smoking habits of more than 300,000 adults over the course of 20 years. The study found that even smoking two cigarettes a day gave a person a **60 percent higher risk of death from any cause**, compared to those who never smoked.
The study, published in *PLOS Medicine* on November 18, further found that those who smoked had a **50 percent higher risk for heart disease**.
Dr. Jennifer Miao, a cardiologist at Yale University and an ABC News Medical Unit fellow, said: “Tobacco use is a very well-established risk factor for heart disease. It really damages the blood vessel lining and it accelerates the development of plaques and coronary artery disease.”
**It’s Never Too Late to Quit**
At the same time, those who stop smoking more or less immediately reduce the risk of health issues.
“It’s important that people know that when they stop smoking, their risk goes down immediately and significantly,” Dr. Erfan Tasdighi, an internal medicine physician at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a co-author on the study, told ABC.
**The Takeaway**
“It’s important to quit smoking early on, and no amount of smoking is without risk and health consequences,” he added. “Even less than one cigarette a day can increase different multiple cardiovascular outcomes, and it’s not something that’s clinically insignificant.”
Please share this article with friends and family and inform them about the dangers of smoking—even light smoking.
