Many People Wrongly Believe That Smoking 10 Cigarettes a Day is a Safe Practice

Although majority of the people know that smoking is a risk factor for developing several cancers and lung diseases, many people still wrongly believe that smoking less is a safe practice. The findings of a new study revealed that more than a third of the study participants believe that smoking up to 10 cigarettes is not associated with any risk of lung cancer. Researcher Laurent Greillier from Hopital Nord in Marseille, France, said, "The results demonstrate powerfully that the war against smoking is far from over." Researchers analyzed data from a representative survey of 1,602 French people aged between 40 and 75 years. Among the whole sample population, 34% wrongly considered that a daily consumption of up to 10 cigarettes was not associated with any risk of lung cancer.

Greillier said, "This finding is particularly impressive and threatening. It shows that relatively low cigarette consumption is considered as ’safe’ for a lot of people. In our study, only half of subjects answered that there is no ’safe’ cigarette. It seems that people are aware about the dangers of tobacco for health, but might consider that the risks are not for themselves, but only for other people."

The study findings were presented at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Source-Medindia