It has been proved and demonstrated in the literature that less than five cigarettes a day are enough to cause lung damage! According to a recent US scientific study, ex-smokers can have visible lung damage even three decades after quitting.
Researchers at the Columbia University College of Medicine, in New York, published a study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, which examined more than 25,000 people, both smokers and non-smokers and noted that:
- The same lung function has been found to deteriorate in the time span of one year, in “light” smokers (5 cigarettes a day), as a heavy smoker would lose in nine months.
- The study also revealed that damage to lung function does not heal after a few years of smoking cessation. That is, they found that it takes at least 30 years to equalize the rate of reduced lung function of ex-smokers with that of non-smokers.
The final findings of this research prove, once again, the harmful effects of smoking and that everyone should be seriously encouraged to quit smoking, no matter how many cigarettes they smoke a day.