A new study from Johns Hopkins University suggests that smoking as few as 100 cigarettes over an entire lifetime may be enough to significantly raise the risk of heart disease and premature death.

Researchers tracked more than 300,000 adults for nearly two decades and found that men and women who smoked as little as two cigarettes a day had a 60% higher risk of death from any cause compared to lifelong non-smokers. Their risk of heart disease was 50% higher, according to the findings published Tuesday in PLOS Medicine.

“Tobacco use is a very well-established risk factor for heart disease,” said Dr. Jennifer Miao, a Yale cardiologist and ABC News Medical Unit fellow. “It really damages the blood vessel lining and it accelerates the development of plaques and coronary artery disease.” She noted that smoking also contributes to atrial fibrillation, stroke, and other rhythm-related cardiac issues.

Importantly, the study shows that cutting back on cigarette use isn’t enough to erase the damage. While current smokers had the highest mortality risk, former smokers still showed elevated rates of heart disease even 20 years after quitting.

Adult smoking in the U.S. has plummeted from 42% in 1965 to about 12% in 2022, according to the American Lung Association. Yet the number of Americans who smoke fewer than 15 cigarettes a day has surged by 85%.

Researchers found the greatest health improvement occurs within the first decade after quitting — but say it takes much longer for the body to fully recover to the level of someone who never smoked.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)