title: [Smoking fewer cigarettes per day may determine a significant risk reduction in developing smoking attributable diseases? Is there a risk reduction for e-cigarette users?].
abstract: Among Italian smokers--about 10 millions in 2013--about 600,000 began using electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) in last years. About 10% of e-cig users quitted smoking tobacco, whereas the 90% was dual users. Among them, about three out of four decreased the number of cigarettes smoked per day (cig/day), but did not quit. How many fewer cigarettes a smoker has to smoke to obtain significant health benefits? Is there a threshold? In order to observe a significant 27% reduction in the risk of developing lung cancer, a smoker must reduce the number of cig/day by at least 50%, while for the other smoking-related diseases (acute myocardial infarction - AMI, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases), halving the number of cig/day did not drive to a significant risk reduction. Even smoking 5 cig/day increases the risk of AMI, whereas it significantly lowers the risk of lung cancer. Obviously, quitting smoking is the best choice to highly reduce risks for all smoking-related diseases. Therefore, in order to achieve significant risk reductions, e-cig users should quit smoking as first choice, or, if they feel it is impossible to them, reduce the consumption of traditional cigarettes to less than 5 cig/day.
authors: Scuola di specializzazione in igiene e medicina preventiva, Università di Firenze. pieriluca@gmail.com.
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Pieri
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Chellini
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Gorini
mesh_terms: D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D016540:Smoking Cessation