It's common knowledge that smoking is bad for your health - but it's not just people with heavy habits who could be puffing their way towards problems. This year's No Smoking Day is urging part-time smokers to quit too, writes Abi Jackson
EVERY year since the campaign began in 1983, No Smoking Day has been rallying smokers to stub out for good and charities in Ireland and Britain are hoping to inspire even higher numbers this year.
But it's not just those with 40-a-day habits being targeted; this year the focus is shifting to include part-time and social smokers. Because while the past few decades have seen a wealth of research highlighting the dangers of being a heavy smoker, the increased risk of certain cancers being most notable, there has been very little emphasis on 'light' smokers.
A recent study, published this year in the Smoking In Britain journal, looking at non-daily smoking and common misconceptions, revealed that awareness of potential health risks of part-time smoking is low. Only a quarter (25 per cent) of the non-daily smokers surveyed said they were worried that cigarettes might be damaging their health, while the significant majority were unconcerned.
Mike Knapton, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), isn't surprised by the findings. "People often think, including some doctors actually, 'Well, if you only smoke a bit, it's not going to do you too much harm'," he says. "Part of that is driven by the lack of evidence; most research is done on people who smoke more. "We don't say enough about part-time smoking."
There may be less data on the health risks of part-time smoking, but that doesn't mean none exists. A major 2005 study, which followed thousands of men and women from
the 1970s through to 2002, looking at the consequences of smoking between one and four cigarettes a day, revealed heart-disease deaths were three times higher than in people who didn't smoke at all. These two studies alone are cause for concern for the BHF. "I think we can say with confidence that, one, there is damage being done [if you're a part-time smoker] and, two, awareness of that is pretty low," Dr Knapton says. "So this is an important message to get out there."
There may be 'guidelines' for sensible consumption levels for alcohol, for instance, but when it comes to smoking, Dr Knapton's view is clear - there is no such thing as a 'safe' lower limit. "An unequivocal no," he says. "There's no safe limit as far as we're aware."
There are more than one million part-time smokers in Britain and Northern Ireland. The non-daily smoking survey also found that just one in seven (15 per cent) of them feel they're addicted to cigarettes, compared to one in three daily smokers.
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, however, and whether or not somebody experiences powerful physical cravings, smoking can be a very tough habit to break.
"It becomes a social or psychological habit too - you have a cup of tea and a cigarette, for instance, and that becomes difficult to change over time," Dr Knapton says.
Reasons for part-time smoking vary. Some say it's a stress reliever, or to help them cope with they're anxious. For many, it's a social thing - lighting up with colleagues during a work break, joining in with other smokers on a night out; having something to hold and 'do' can be a comfort in itself.
Despite the low number of 'light' smokers admitting to health worries, two in five (40 per cent) said they've tried to quit in the past year.
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