"Social smoking" further increases health risks

"Social smoking" further increases health risks

Lighting study sometimes presents as harmful to health as smoking regulates blood vessels

"Not smoking at all is the best way to go smoking yet in a social situation is bad for your cardiovascular health," said study author Kate Gawlik, assistant professor of nursing clinic in Ohio State University.

Researchers interviewed nearly 40,000 people in the United States and found that over 10 percent were social smokers - meaning they do not smoke every day - while 17 percent were regular smokers.

Between the two groups of smokers, high blood pressure levels were about 75 percent and high cholesterol levels were about 54 percent, according to the study published May 3 in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

High blood pressure and high cholesterol are the major risk factors for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the world.

"These results are surprising and are so important for clinical practice and the health of the population," said the author of Bernadette's study Melnyk advance. She is Dean of the Ohio School of Nursing and Head of Wellness at the University.

Health care providers should try to identify social smokers and offer tips and tools to quit smoking, the researchers said.

"This has been a rather neglected part of smoking routinely población.Sabemos is an addiction, but providers do not usually ask about social smoking," said Melnyk.

"Simple healthy lifestyle changes, including appropriate aspirin therapy, control blood pressure, cholesterol management, stress management and - very important - quit smoking can kill much of the risk of Chronic disease, "he added.