SMOKING WARNING

Quitting is the only sure way to reduce the risk of health damage caused by cigarettes

If you smoke, just cutting back isn’t enough to save your life. Smokers with a 15-plus cigarette-a-day habit who halved their consumption were no less likely to die of heart disease and smoking-related cancers than those who maintained their heavy habit, according to research in the journal Tobacco Control. Quitting is the only sure way to reduce the risk of health damage caused by cigarettes. “Cutting back creates a false sense of security that you’re improving your health, but there are no know safe levels of exposure to chemicals in cigarettes,” says Lowell Dale, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center.