Occassional Smokers, Still At Risk?

Smoking is well known to have its negative effects on both active and passive smokers. But what about occassional smokers, are they still at risk?

A recent study conducted at University of Georgia researchers "found that the arteries of otherwise young, healthy adults who smoked less than a pack a week were 36% less responsive to changes in blood flow than nonsmokers, even if it had been days since their last cigarette. This lack of responsiveness, known as impaired flow-mediated dilation, is an early sign of the arterial damage that typically foreshadows the development of cardiovascular disease."

That's bad news for the occasional smokers and "weekend smokers" . Regardless of how many cigarettes you smoke in one day or one week, smoking is still one of the worst things you can do for your health.

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Cigarettes and Teenagers

We have always been aware of the consequences of cigarette smoking to our bodies. Recent study from Université de Montréal shows that teenage girls who smoke are more likely to have difficulty loosing weight than non-smoker teenagers. And teenage boys who smoke shows a decrease in height as well as their body mass.

Dr. Jennifer O’Loughlin headed the research and according to their study, a teenage boy ages 12 - 17, who consumes 10 cigarettes per day is about an inch shorter than non-smoker teenager boys.

According to Dr. Loughlin, “We were surprised to find that there was no link between smoking and weight among teen girls because it’s something that many of us take for granted,We can only hope that girls will think twice about taking up smoking now, if weight loss is one of their goals.Maybe teenage boys will see smoking as a bad decision if they dream of being a quarterback or star basketball player,”

This study is truly helpful to parents who woould want to convince their children to avoid cigarette smoking. These results can be used in creating awareness of the physical effects of cigarette smoking to the growth and development of adolescents to adulthood.

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