# does smoking more per day lead to a proportional increase in disease riisk?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 13, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465 "2008-02-13T18:40:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![greatscott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/51bf81/32.png) [@greatscott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatscott)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465/1 "2008-02-13T18:40:11Z")

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So, if I smoke 5 a day, and my mate smokes 20 a day, am I four times less likely to get lung cancer? Doing my heart four times less damage?

i couldn’t find anything conclusive on Google.

p.s. please don’t tell me to stop smoking. I like smoking! 🙂

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465/2 "2008-02-13T19:08:58Z")

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Don’t know how your risks compare to heavier smokers, but here is a[study](http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/14/5/315) of health risks to people who smoke 1-4 cigarettes per day.

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**Author:** ![greatscott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/51bf81/32.png) [@greatscott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatscott)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465/3 "2008-02-13T19:41:54Z")

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thanks, that helped me find more stuff, the key google phrase was “dose-response”

Basically, the answer is, even if you smoke 1-4, you still increase your risk compared to non-smokers, but overall there is a smooth curve: the more you smoke, the greater the risk of cancer/heart disease.

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465/4 "2008-02-13T19:57:47Z")

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Here’s some[more info](http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/56/1/3) more specific to your question:

> [@](#):
>
> Light smokers had a 56% lower risk of lung cancer than heavy smokers… Furthermore, the risks of heart disease and lung diseases other than cancer were not reduced by smoking less.

But if you want to feel even better then you should probably compare yourself to someone who smokes 2 packs a day, or a coal miner, or perhaps a mine-sweeping specialist. 😃

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465/5 "2008-02-14T03:25:59Z")

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[QUOTE=greatscott]  
p.s. please don’t tell me to stop smoking. I like smoking! 🙂  
[/QUOTE]  
Nothing surprising there.  
Most addicts like their drug, and the effects it has on them.

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-more-per-day-lead-to-a-proportional-increase-in-disease-riisk/437465/6 "2008-02-14T14:26:30Z")

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I read somewhere that every second you spend smoking shortens your lifespan by one second; that is, it brings you two seconds closer to death (realizing that every second you spend not damaging yourself still brings you one second closer to death).