Having fewer than 5 cigarettes a day still triples the risk of heart disease

Do you often light up when you’ve had a drink but reassure yourself you’re 'not a smoker' as you don't smoke every day?

You’re not alone, as many young women are ‘very light’ smokers, according to a study.

A fifth of women smoke five or fewer cigarettes a day, HealthDay reports.

And intermittent smoking - using cigarettes on some days but not others – was common among these women.

Commenting on the findings, experts warned young women shouldn’t ‘fool themselves’ into thinking smoking is harmless.

As part of the study, Dr Carole Holahan, of the University of Texas at Austin, looked at data from nearly 9,800 women aged 18 to 25 who took part in a federal government survey in 2011.

They found nearly 20 per cent of all the women in the study, and about 60 per cent of current smokers, were described as ‘very light smokers’.

Light smoking was defined as five or fewer cigarettes a day.

Interestingly, they found nearly half of the current smokers did not smoke every day. 

Compared to other smokers, very light smokers were much more likely to be intermittent smokers - meaning they smoke on some days but not others.

They were also more likely to be from a minority group, to have some university education and less likely to be married, the study found.

Commenting on the study, Dr Len Horovitz, a lung specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told HealthDay that smoking at this level still carries health risks.

He said: 'Even light smoking can triple the lifetime risk of heart disease.

‘More efforts need to be directed at this cohort of emerging young women who smoke lightly.’

Another anti-smoking expert said very light smokers might not even consider themselves smokers at all.

‘They may not even consider themselves to be smokers and that they can quit easily,’ said Patricia Folan, director of the Center for Tobacco Control at North Shore-LIJ.

She said for this reason, doctors should ask their patients, particularly young women, “When was the last time you used tobacco?”

‘If patients are asked if they smoke, the very light and/or non-daily smokers may say no. ‘Light and non-daily smokers often increase their smoking over time and become daily, heavier smokers,’ she added.

Certain people might be more vulnerable to taking up a ‘light’ smoking habit, the Texas researchers added.

They found that - like other smokers - very light smokers were more likely to have suffered depression at some point in their life, and to report mental distress or substance use in the past month.

The study was published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. 

A British Heart Foundation study published last year found that smoking just one cigarette a day can triple the risk of heart disease compared with people who never smoked.

Lighting up between one and four cigarettes a day significantly increased the rate of heart disease, and deaths from all causes.

Lung cancer rates also went up in women who were smoking at least one cigarette a day, researchers found.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter