Cutting Back, Not Cutting Down
By Alison Snyder
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Smokers who cut back on cigarettes may not necessarily be curtailing the amount of toxic substances they inhale. Heavy smokers who light up less often still breathe in at least two times more toxic substances per cigarette than light smokers, according to a study by Dorothy Hatsukami and her colleagues at the University of Minnesota. Evidently, when heavy smokers puff on fewer cigarettes, they compensate for lower levels of nicotine by inhaling more deeply or longer on each one. The study supports earlier epidemiological work that revealed that individuals who cut the number of cigarettes they smoke do not have decreased health risks. “The bottom line is there may not be any health benefit to reducing the number of cigarettes,” Hatsukami says. If smokers want to reduce their risk of cancer and disease, she adds, they “need to stop smoking.” The study appears in the December 2006 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
