Casual Smokers' Health Risks The Same as Heavy Smokers'

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For those who are under the impression that sporadic use of tobacco is relatively harmless compared to the negative health impacts of those who chain smoke, think again.

A University of Texas research has found that casual or intermittent tobacco smoking defined as 5 sticks or less a day is a growing trend among young women. The research published in Preventing Chronic Disease looked into the increasing number of casual smoking among women.

In nearly 10,000 samples of women aged 18 to 25 acquired from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, researchers found that twenty percent of the participants were smokers and three-fifths were "very light smokers." These "very light smokers" were 18 to 20 year-olds, from a minority group and have some college education. This group of women was also more aware than heavier smokers that cigarette smoking has health risks.

Time reports that casual smoking is just as destructive a habit as heavy smoking (defined as one pack a day) as it can also cause infertility and cancer of the cervix for young women. Casual smokers were found to have suffered from the same psychological issues of heavier smokers such as depression and drug addiction.

"Even light smoking can triple the lifetime risk of heart disease," Dr. Len Horovitz, pulmonary expert at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital and who is not involved in the study, told CBS News. "More efforts need to be directed at this cohort of emerging young women who smoke lightly," he added.

Additionally, young women are susceptible to initiating the habit since these are commonly the time where young adults are stressed.

"Social features of college life, including weekend partying, may promote smoking at a very light level among college women," according to the authors in the report by the magazine. "Emotional distress and multiple substance misuse may serve to both initiate and maintain very light smoking."

In conclusion, the researchers said there is a need to watch over the trend of very light smoking among young women. Given the fact that casual smokers have lower nicotine dependence and that they are more aware of the negative impacts of tobacco, there could be prevention strategies that could work for this population. This could be applied to public health efforts commonly aimed at heavier smokers as well.

"Making very light smokers aware that even small amounts of tobacco are harmful would be important," said Carole Holahan, study researcher from the university, via Live Science.