Cutting Back on Cigarettes Does Not Reduce Death Risks from Smoking

Just a brief research note for those of you who still smoke cigarettes. A recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology (Am. J. Epidemiol. (2013). doi: 10.1093/aje/kwt038) indicates that just cutting down on the number of cigarettes smoked does not reduce the mortality risks from smoking. The authors of the study, conducted in Scotland, stated that: "In this long-term prospective study of both working and general population cohorts, we were unable to detect a significant overall long-term survival benefit among smokers who reported reducing their daily consumption of cigarettes..." This study confirms findings of most other studies that reducing the number of cigarettes smoked does not reduce mortality associated with smoking, but found that such a reduction can be helpful in pursing eventual abstinence from smoking. Thus the study concluded: "Existing research does not provide useful guidance for the level of reduction of cigarette consumption required to confer meaningful health benefits. On the other hand, continued smoking, even at low levels, clearly carries substantially increased health risks. Reducing the frequency of smoking should thus primarily be recommended as a short-term step toward cessation."

As always, comments are invited. Jan Edward Williams, www.alcoholdrugsos.com. 07/18/2013.