What are the risks that these groups of smokers face?

The stereotypical heavy smoker is someone who is smoking every day. They can’t go through the day without smoking. They could be smoking anything from up to a packet to several packs daily. In most cases the amount of cigarettes smoked is gradually increasing. These smokers are at highest risk of the health pitfalls that accompany smoking.

Studies have shown again and again that this group face an increased risk of cancer, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, stroke, aneurysms, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular illnesses.

The next group are lighter smokers. They smoke from one to five cigarettes a day. Considering that they smoke less than a heavy smoker you might think the risk is reduced by the a proportional percentage. For instance if they smoke half the number of cigarettes as a heavy smoker does then they are at half the risk.

A study in Norway carried out over 30 years involving 54,000 people recently dispelled this myth. The study found that the groups of people smoking ‘lightly’ were almost at the same level of risk as the ‘heavy’ smokers. Smokers of any amount were about twice as likely to suffer the diseases as those who did not smoke. This ground breaking study concluded that there is no safe number of cigarettes to smoke.

But what about the so called social smoker? Those people who smoke at parties, when out with friends and other social events. People who don’t necessarily smoke every day or only smoke a small number. What health risks do they face?

Social or occasional smokers are still at risk of developing smoking related illness. There is evidence to suggest that it is a reduced risk than that faced daily smokers. It should be noted that almost everyone who becomes a daily smoker begins as a social or occasional smoker. The chances of a persons smoking habits developing from occasional into daily are extremely high.

The group at the greatest risk here are those who have in the past smoked daily and have managed to give up for a time or cut back to social occasions. This group will statistically have great difficulty staying at a reduced rate and in the majority of cases will return to daily smoking. The trigger that spurs them back to daily smoking is usually a highly stressful event such as a bereavement.

All groups of smokers face increased health risks. They are engaging in a proven dangerous activity. Some smokers will escape unharmed but the majority will suffer the consequences of reduced overall quality of life and the myriad of deadly illnesses that accompany smoking.