As few as 2 cigarettes per day linked to 60% increased risk of heart disease: Study

(NEW YORK) — Just 100 cigarettes over the course of someone’s life may be enough to raise their risk of heart disease and death, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, who looked at the smoking habits of more than 300,000 adults for almost 20 years, found that men and women who smoked as few as two cigarettes daily had a 60% increased risk of death from any cause compared to those who never smoked.

Additionally, the smoking group had a 50% higher risk of heart disease, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine.

“Tobacco use is a very well-established risk factor for heart disease,” said Dr. Jennifer Miao, a cardiologist at Yale University and an ABC News Medical Unit fellow. “It really damages the blood vessel lining and it accelerates