Some debate still exists surrounding the need to differentiate between light and regular smokers. Like the reversal of marketing tobacco products as light, ultra-light or regular, such categorizations in consumption can lead some people to believe that smoking fewer cigarettes a day is less harmful than what's often constituted as a regular smoker. Tobacco use at any level is considered harmful, warns the American Legacy Foundation.
Definition
Though the definition of a light smoker fluctuates, many studies, such as those conducted by the National Health Screening Service and Department of Medicine at Ostra Hospital, base their research on the impact of one to four cigarettes a day. Using this as a benchmark, light smoking can then be loosely defined as smoking less than five cigarettes a day. However, according to the American Legacy Foundation, this is classified as very light smoking and elevate the amount considered light smoking to less than 10 to 15 cigarettes a day.
Significance
Besides the potential perception of less harm, defining light smokers is problematic due to a number of other factors. Not only do tobacco products vary greatly, which can affect exposure to harmful chemicals, the levels of tobacco to sustain addiction, the nonlinear relationship between consumption and disease, and the changes in smoking behavior differs from person to person. This means that light smoking impacts people differently and using consumption as a predictor for health problems is unreliable.
Benefits
That being said, most smoking cessation programs and public health efforts involve moderate to heavy smokers, neglecting those individuals who only smoke lightly or intermittently. In this situation, a definition of light smoking could be beneficial and help treat the unique circumstances that surround this type of smoking habit, such as social implications and smoking triggers that often accompany light smoking.
Effects
Regardless of consumption, smoking cigarettes, even fewer than five a day, increases your risks of developing coronary heart disease, ischemic heart disease and cancer. It also increases your risks of mortality due to any one of these diseases, indicates a study conducted by the Department of Medicine at Ostra Hospital in Sweden.
Prevention
Because there's no level of smoking or tobacco product that is less harmful than others, it's best to never start. If you've already begun smoking, even lightly, you may benefit from a cessation program that is used to treat moderate to heavy smokers.
