Light smoking still damages lungs: Study
New York: People who smoke fewer than five cigarettes a day cause long-term damage to their lungs, according to new research.
"Many people assume that smoking a few cigarettes a day isn't so bad, but it turns out that the difference in loss of lung function between someone who smokes five cigarettes a day versus two packs a day is relatively small," said study lead author Elizabeth Oelsner, Assistant Professor at Columbia University Vagelos College in the US.
Lung function declines naturally with age (starting in one's 20s), and it's well-known that smoking accelerates the decline.
The new study shows that although lung capacity declines at a much lower rate in ex-smokers than current smokers, the rate doesn't normalise for at least 30 years.
This article originally appeared at the TimesNowNews website
link: https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/light-smoking-still-damages-lungs-study/502889?utm_source=relatedarticles&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=related