(Web Desk) - Smoking just two fags a day could be enough to kill you, a study suggests.
Scientists from Johns Hopkins University in the US said even “low intensity” smoking can raise your risk of an early death by 60 per cent.
Twenty years’ worth of data from 300,000 people showed that light or social smokers are at serious risk as well as hardened addicts.
They were found to have a higher risk of heart disease or dying prematurely.
Between two and five cigarettes per day, equal to one or two packs per week, counted as “low intensity”.
The average smoker in the UK gets through about 11 fags per day.
Experts warned that simply reducing the number of cigs is not enough to reverse health damage.
The team led by Dr Michael Blaha said: “It is remarkable how harmful smoking is and even low doses confer large risks.
“It is imperative to quit smoking as early in life as possible.
“The amount of time passed since complete cessation is more important than a lower quantity of cigarettes each day.”
The analysis published in the journal Plos Medicine analysed the results of 22 previous studies.
It found that people who smoked two to five cigarettes per day were 50 per cent more likely to get heart disease than people who never smoked.
They were 60 per cent more likely to have died during the 20 years of study follow-up.
The Office for National Statistics says around six million people in the UK smoke tobacco – one in eight adults.
It estimates the average smoker in Britain in 2022 consumed 10.6 cigarettes per day, down from around 14 in the early 2000s.
Chemicals in smoking are known to cause more than a dozen cancers as well as heart disease and dementia – all top killers in the UK.
Dr Blaha added: “The main public health message for smokers should be early cessation, rather than reducing the amount of smoking.”