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Health

Just one cigarette a day can cause serious heart problems

By New Scientist and Press Association

24 January 2018

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

One is one too many

Riccardo Botta / EyeEm /Getty

Think that a quick smoke won’t do you any harm? Think again. Smoking just one cigarette a day is linked to major risk of heart disease.

That’s according to researchers who analysed the results of 141 studies, and estimated the relative risk associated with smoking one, five or 20 cigarettes per day.

They found that smoking one cigarette a day was associated with at least a 48 per cent increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men. Women saw at least a 57 per cent increased risk…

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