Source: The Mercury, Tuesday, August 15, 1995, p.16
Source: The Mercury, Tuesday, August 15, 1995, p.16
London SMOKERS in their 30s and 40s have five times as many heart attacks as non-smokers a study of more than 10,000 UK heart attack survivors reveals. Both low and medium-tar cigarettes cause high risk, says a coming report in the British Medical Journal. Smokers do not have to be old to have a heart attack; heart attacks are the main way tobacco kills young adults and cigarettes also cause many non- fatal attacks. In developed countries there are about half a million heart attacks each year among people still in their 30s or 40s-and more than half of these are caused by tobacco. Heart attacks are the biggest cause of premature death in North America and Western Europe; in Central Europe and the former USSR the risks are even bigger. "This study shows smoking causes even more premature heart attacks than was previously supposed," said Dr Rory Collins, of the British Heart Foundation and a study organiser. "The younger you are, the bigger the proportion of attacks caused by tobacco." PA
Where to next?
Student Questions for this article
Teacher Discussion of this article
Index - Chance and Basic Probability