Cigarettes: A product that kills two out of three of its users

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This study, put together by investigators from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, followed 204,953 men and women over 45 years old from New South Wales, Australia. These participants were categorized into groups of smokers, past smokers, and never smokers.

The investigators found the percentage of smokers was comparable among men and women. They also found that current smokers were likely to be younger than never smokers, and they were less likely to live in urban areas. Current smokers had lower income and education when compared to never smokers, and they were less likely to hold private health insurance. Finally, current smokers were more likely to report consuming over 15 alcoholic drinks a week and were more likely to have a higher body mass index.

(These factors were accounted for when the mortality statistics were examined.)

Epidemiological outcomes are typically reported in terms of “Relative Risk”, which describes the proportion of the risk of an outcome that can be attributed to a specific factor. In this study, the relative risk of death (known as mortality) for male and female smokers showed that they were approximately 2.76 and 2.95 times more likely to die than never smokers. Quitting helps; male and female past smokers were 1.27 and 1.39 times more likely to die than never smokers. These numbers, while not surprising given the large body of data on the risks of smoking, are nonetheless a staggering reminder of the quantifiable risks of smoking.

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