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Smoking from time to time is just as dangerous for your health

Some take advantage of the end-of-year celebrations and more generally of meetings with friends or family to indulge in a few cigarettes. Occasional smoking, as it is called, means smoking only in very specific conditions:on the terrace, during festive events, at the Thursday afterwork, etc. If this limited consumption suggests that one “is not a real smoker”, the reality is quite different according to Dr. Richard Russell, adviser to the British Lung Association (British Lung Foundation). “Occasional smoking does not have an appropriate name. Whether you smoke occasionally or not is not what matters. The problem is the chemicals you inhale. Smoking from time to time also endangers health, the only degree of smoking that does not cause any harm is not smoking at all, "he explains to the site Cosmo US . He supports his statements with a very specific study:“Researchers at the University of Bristol estimate that over the course of a lifetime, each cigarette deprives 11 minutes of existence. […] Another study suggests that people who smoke 1 to 4 cigarettes a day are much more likely to die of any disease than a non-smoker .

“Irreversible” mutations in cells

The increased risk in the case of smokers is of course to contract lung infections. "Even 'light' smokers are more prone to lung infections, and when it happens to them, the symptoms last longer than in non-smokers. This is because your lungs are getting less and less efficient at clearing debris “, continues the practitioner. It's scary… The danger of falling ill with cancer is still not as threatening as people who smoke daily, but it is relative to the individual:“It has recently been shown that [tobacco ], even when consumed infrequently, can have effects on DNA and cells in the body. Researchers at the Welcome Trust's Sanger Institute have analyzed the DNA of 5,000 cancers to see the impact tobacco has on DNA. They found that smoking even 4-5 packs in a lifetime can cause irreversible mutations in cells, and thus increase the risk of cancer concludes Dr. Russell. If you are still looking for the motivation to quit, perhaps the effect of tobacco on physical appearance will convince you:the 5,000 chemical compounds that one inhales with a cigarette are responsible for the deterioration of the skin, which can be aged between 10 and 20 years in the long term. The risk of acquiring wrinkles is multiplied by 3, especially around the eyes and mouth.

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