Risk of early death from smoking more severe than thought, Australian study reveals

The risk of premature death from smoking is much more severe than previously thought for both light and heavy smokers, a large Australian study has revealed.

The study found that two thirds of deaths in current smokers can be attributed to tobacco use.
Professor Emily Banks from the Australian National University led the study, which followed 200,000 people over four years.
"The international rule of thumb is that half of all smoker deaths are directly caused by tobacco," she said.
"We found that [over the four years] people who are current smokers were three times more likely to die than people who had never smoked, and their life expectancy within that four-year period was diminished by 10 years compared to the never-smokers."
Professor Banks is also the scientific director of the Sax Institute's 45 and Up study, which collected the data on the health of 10 per cent of New South Wales residents.
International research has long confirmed the connection between tobacco smoking and premature death from heart problems and lung cancer.
Tobacco smoking is estimated to be responsible for 9.7 per cent of the total disease burden, but until now large-scale Australian data has not been available.
Professor Banks says the effect that smoking has on the population depends on the intensity of smoking and how long people have been smoking.
"So in a way we need our data for our epidemic, and this is the first time that we have had data from the Australian population," she said.
She says the death rate matches patterns in the Britain and the United States.
"When people have been smoking for decades having started smoking in their late teens, and actually smoking heavily ... it's the pattern you see with a mature epidemic," she said.
News also bad for 'light' smokers
Similarly, the news is not good for people who think of themselves as light smokers.
"The risk associated with smoking 10 cigarettes a day are similar to the risks of death associated with being morbidly obese, so with having a body mass index of 35 or more," Professor Banks said
"Most light smokers wouldn't think of themselves as having a risk that is similar to someone who is morbidly obese."Â
While the study did find it is better to be a light smoker than a heavy smoker, it did confirm that giving up improves health.
"On average smokers reduce their life expectancy by 10 years," Professor Banks said.
"Quitting at any age reduces the risks and the earlier, the younger you quit the better."
People who had cancer and heart disease were eliminated at the start and there were adjustments for alcohol, socio-economic factors, weight and age.
The preliminary data is to be presented to the 10th annual 45 and Up Collaborators meeting in Sydney on Friday
Professor Banks says the next step in the research is the basic building block to apply to the general Australian population to find more exactly how many deaths can be attributed to smoking.