Smoking is obviously bad for your health, for many reasons. Everyone knows that, including smokers. It’s extremely difficult to give up this addiction, but it’s good to keep reinforcing just how unhealthy it is, and to keep up with the latest research. After all, China’s rate of male smoking is 57%, so there’s a long way to go in terms of public health.

A new study (review below) helps to define what is a safe level of smoking. Many smokers go from a pack a day to just a few and feel a lot better but just can’t totally quit. Well, here’s a new study which clearly shows that just three cigs a day dramatically increases your risk of heart disease — by 64%. A pack a day person doubles their risk. This evidence hopefully will give smokers that extra push to completely stop.

There’s also a concerning angle about this for all Beijingers, even for non-smokers; in terms of air pollution, cigarette smoke is considered a fine particulate just like all other air pollution particles (see my recent post on air pollution). What this study suggests is that even at low PM levels, you still get an increased risk of heart disease.

Article: Only Three Cigarettes a Day Significantly Increases Cardiovascular Disease Risk .