Social smoking ‘as bad for you as a regular ciggie’

SMOKeRS who only have the odd cigarette after a few drinks may convince themselves that it’s a relatively harmless indulgence.

But those who have the occasional puff are at the same risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol as those who light up every day, research reveals.

US scientists found both habitual and ‘social smokers’ suffer almost the same health problems in a study of almost 40,000 participants. Around three- quarters of both groups suffered high blood pressure, putting them at risk of heart attack or stroke. Roughly 54 per cent of both groups had high cholesterol.

Lead author Kate Gawlik, of Ohio State University, said: ‘Not smoking at all is the best way to go. even smoking in a social situation is detrimental to your cardiovascular health. One in ten people in this study said they sometimes smoke, and many of them are young and already on the path to heart disease.’

A 2014 study suggests there are 1.1 million social smokers in Britain. But there has been little research on the group who, in studies on cigarettes, tend to answer questions by stating that they do not smoke. Previous research also suggests they may not be addicted to nicotine. The US study, published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, found that of the 10 per cent who smoked socially most of them were men or aged under 40.

Senior author Dr Bernadette Melnyk said: ‘These are striking findings and they have such significance for clinical practice and for population health.

‘This has been a fairly neglected part of the population. We know that regular smoking is an addiction, but [we] don’t usually ask about social smoking.’