Just Cutting Down on Smoking Won't Help Heart Health, Study Finds

The detrimental effects of smoking on our health have been well-documented for years in scientific literature, leaving many smokers thinking that reducing their consumption in any way will have a major impact on their overall well-being. A new study from the European Society of Cardiology has some bad news for those planning to cut down on smoking in hopes of improving their health. 

The research, presented Aug. 29 at the 2024 ESC Congress, examined the relationship between smoking and cardiovascular events like heart attacks in 32,378 people with heart disease. The scientists found that those who quit smoking entirely experienced a 44-percent reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events, including death and heart attack, over a five-year follow-up period. Cutting down on smoking, however, had a "minimal" impact on major cardiac event risk. 

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While smokers who quit saw a "rapid significant reduction" in cardiac event risk, they never were able to reach the cardiovascular risk level of people who never smoked, even years after they stopped. Still, that shouldn't discourage you from quitting. 

"I like to tell my patients that it is never too soon or too late to stop smoking, though the sooner a patient stops, the better to lower cardiovascular risk," study author Dr. Jules Mesnier said in a statement. "And it is not enough to reduce smoking. Short, clear messages are needed for smokers at every medical intervention highlighting the need to quit. Telling patients they can cut their risk of a subsequent major event or death by half—as we have shown here—is a powerful message."

Now is as good a time as ever to put down the pack.