NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even healthy young adults may suffer negative health consequences due to smoking. Smokers in their 20s and 30s were much more likely to miss work or be admitted to a hospital in the short-term than nonsmokers, researchers repor

``We found a population of people who are relatively young--most of these people have been smoking for about 10 years, not very long--so we were actually surprised when we found substantial and current effects on their health,'' said study lead author Major Anthony S. Robbins, from the Office for Prevention and Health Services Assessment at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas. Robbins and his team analyzed the health risks of nearly 88,000 active army personnel. The researchers focused specifically on the participants' general health habits, lost workdays, and hospitalization time. The findings are published in a recent issue of Tobacco Control. The investigators found that smoking increased the number of missed workdays and risk of hospitalization. Compared with nonsmokers, there was a 30% increase in the risk of being hospitalized for a cause other than injury among men currently smoking and a 20% increase for former smokers. Among women, the risk increase was 25% for current smokers and 13% for former smokers. Current smoking was associated with a 60% increase in missed work among men and a 15% increase among women--after defining missed work as either being hospitalized or on sustained medical leave for convalescence. Missed work was tallied when it resulted from a lengthy and serious illness--not just a sick day here and there, Robbins explained. ``We looked at health issues that were really severe, so this is the most extreme tip of the iceberg,'' he told Reuters Health. ``This opens up a new angle on the adverse effects of smoking, which is short-term effects on young people that maybe are not the traditional kinds of illnesses that are linked with smoking. Until now, the vast majority of literature has been on people who are middle-aged or elderly who have been smoking for a long time.''

<< Prev	CIGoutlet.NET News Home	Next >>