During the study, the results of nearly twenty long-term projects involving over 300,000 people from the USA and Brazil were analyzed. Among those who smoked between two and five cigarettes daily, the risk of heart attack increased by 50% over 15 years of observation, and the likelihood of death rose by 60%. Participants who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day had a mortality rate more than three times higher than that of non-smokers.
Moreover, the scientists investigated how quickly the risk of cardiovascular diseases decreases after quitting smoking. The most significant reduction in risk occurs in the first ten years after quitting tobacco; however, even after 30 years, the likelihood of developing diseases remains higher than for those who have never smoked.
