# Risk of smoking one cigarette per day

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-of-smoking-one-cigarette-per-day/348298>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 14, 2006, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-of-smoking-one-cigarette-per-day/348298 "2006-03-14T11:12:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-of-smoking-one-cigarette-per-day/348298/1 "2006-03-14T11:12:47Z")

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What would the health risks be of smoking one cigarette per day? I’d assume that the risks of heart disease and cancer would be higher than someone who did not smoke at all, but would there be any serious chance of these ailments being directly caused by the smoking?

I realize that most smokers smoke multiple cigarettes and do not stop at only one - but if someone were to have the willpower to only smoke one cigarette, could they continue to lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle (if they were to also keep their fatty foods and alcohol intake in moderation)?

I ask this in light of the recent debates over whether smoking or overeating is more harmful. I would assume that if eating one small donut each day is not particularly unhealthy, but eating 20 donuts or more would be, then smoking one cigarette each day would not be unhealthy, but the problem would arise when you moved beyond that to as many as a full pack per day.

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**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risk-of-smoking-one-cigarette-per-day/348298/2 "2006-03-14T12:16:13Z")

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> [@Argent Towers](#):
>
> What would the health risks be of smoking one cigarette per day? I’d assume that the risks of heart disease and cancer would be higher than someone who did not smoke at all, but would there be any serious chance of these ailments being directly caused by the smoking?

No direct studies have been done on your specific question, but this study should illuminate.

From [Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years’ observations on male British doctors](http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=15213107),

> [@](#):
>
> Those who stopped at about age 50 gained about six years of life expectancy; those who stopped at about age 40 gained about nine years; and those who stopped before middle age [age 35] gained about 10 years and had a pattern of survival similar to that of men who had never smoked (fig 4 (top graph)).
> 
> The mean cigarette consumption in 1951 (or when last smoked, if this was before 1951) was similar to that in continuing smokers for those who stopped at 45-64 and was only slightly lower for those who stopped at 25-34 or 35-44. Thus, the latter had, on average, had substantial exposure to cigarette smoking for about 20 years before giving up the habit, yet they still avoided most of the excess mortality that they would have suffered if they had continued to smoke.

(square bracket inserts mine)