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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Smoking One Cigarette A Day Cause Harm?

I have been smoking for 2 years straight and i plan to stop altogether for about 4 months to allow my lungs to recover as i have been suffering from breathing problems and it affects my sports activities. however, i know that i will eventually start again after my time period as all my friends and most of my family smoke. so when i do get back to smoking i will only smoke one a day (i know im able to do this and not exceed over one) so i would like to know if smoking one a day will affect me?
Mon, 15 Sep 2014
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Addiction Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Takes years, not months to recover and... the recovery is never full. First, the lungs do not totally regenerate, therefore we lose some lung function every year even if not a smoker. Smokers lose lung at twice the rate of non-smokers and never can get all of it back. They can get some lung function improvement for 1-2 years after QUITTING. One cigarette a day will likely slow up this healing process. THere is a cancer risk proportional to number of cigarettes (one is a low risk).

BUT!!!!
Some people have a lot of inflammation from cigarettes (demonstrated by wheeze, difficulty breathing, sputum, etc.) it is like an allergy. And, even ONE cigarette is quite bad if you are allergic to it !
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Can Smoking One Cigarette A Day Cause Harm?

Takes years, not months to recover and... the recovery is never full. First, the lungs do not totally regenerate, therefore we lose some lung function every year even if not a smoker. Smokers lose lung at twice the rate of non-smokers and never can get all of it back. They can get some lung function improvement for 1-2 years after QUITTING. One cigarette a day will likely slow up this healing process. THere is a cancer risk proportional to number of cigarettes (one is a low risk). BUT!!!! Some people have a lot of inflammation from cigarettes (demonstrated by wheeze, difficulty breathing, sputum, etc.) it is like an allergy. And, even ONE cigarette is quite bad if you are allergic to it !