Overview
- Compared with never-smokers, smoking 2–5 cigarettes daily was linked to about 50% higher cardiovascular disease risk and roughly 60% higher all-cause mortality.
- Researchers recorded more than 125,000 deaths and about 54,000 cardiovascular events in the pooled follow-up.
- Quitting reduced risk immediately and substantially in the first 10–20 years, yet former smokers may need 31–40 years for risks to approach those of never-smokers.
- Smoking 11–15 cigarettes per day was associated with an 84% higher cardiovascular disease risk and more than double the risk of death.
- Study authors and the American Heart Association stressed that no level of cigarette use is safe and urged clinicians to prioritize complete cessation over cutting back.