And so can you. This site was created by a smoker who successfully quit. The goal here is to provide a collection of information, inspiration, and support for others who want to kick the habit. A relationship exists between cigarette smoking and the risk of coronary heart disease. Cigarette smoking also acts with other risk factors to greatly increase the risk for coronary heart disease.
Cigarette smoking is the most important risk factor for both young men and women.
It produces a greater relative risk in persons under 50 years of age than in those over 50 years old. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk of coronary heart disease compared with women who neither smoke nor use oral contraceptives. Cigarette smoking combined with a family history of heart disease also seems to greatly increase the risk. Several studies already document the health hazards posed by passive smoking. It s estimated that from 37,000 to 40,000 people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people s smoke each year.