If you think you are doing your heart and lungs a favor by smoking only “a little,” think again. Light or intermittent smoking may be safer for you than heavy smoking, but it still causes harm to the heart and body, reports the November 2010 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.

Light and intermittent smokers often fly under the radar of doctors and others in a position to help them quit completely. When asked “Do you smoke?” they often answer “No.”

Almost half of the people who smoke only a few cigarettes a day, or who smoke only now and then, don’t consider themselves to be smokers, don’t believe that it poses much of a risk to their health, and feel that they can quit any time they want. They are wrong on all counts. The health hazards associated with light or intermittent smoking include increased risks for

• heart disease due to high blood pressure and cholesterol-clogged arteries
• premature death from cardiovascular disease
• lung, esophageal, stomach, and pancreatic cancer
• respiratory tract infections
• delayed conception in women and poor sperm function in men
• slower recovery from injury.

The Harvard Heart Letter notes that there aren’t any formal guidelines to help light and intermittent smokers quit. Nicotine replacement may work for some light or intermittent smokers. Whether medications such as Zyban or Chantix can help is an unanswered question. Light and social smokers may be moved to quit by messages that their smoke is harmful to others.

Read the full-length article: "Light and social smoking carry cardiovascular risks"