Social Smoking is just as Dangerous as a Daily Habit - RESEARCH

The risks are actually identical.

Researchers discovered that in both social and habitual smokers, about 75% had high blood pressure and 54% had high cholesterol - both of which are significant contributors to heart disease, the leading killer of men and women worldwide. They determined that a "social smoker" was anyone who admitted to smoking cigarettes but not on a daily basis.

"One in 10 people in this study said they sometimes smoke and many of them are young and already on the path to heart disease," said Kate Gawlik, lead author of the study and assist professor at Ohio State University.

"This has been a fairly neglected part of the population," said Bernadette Melnyk, chief wellness officer for OSU. "Providers don't usually ask about social smoking," she said.

Volunteers for the study identified themselves as non-smokers (who never smoke at all), current, daily smokers and social smokers (those who don't smoke daily but will in certain social situations, regularly). The sample size of smokers in the study is nationally representative of the Centers for Disease Control's estimate that nearly 18% of American adults identify themselves as smokers.

The scientists found that social smokers - who were likely younger (between 21 and 40-years-old), male and Hispanic, had the same exact risks of hypertension (high blood pressure) or high cholesterol as their full-time smoking counterparts.

But the authors urge that these risks are reversible and that there's plenty of room for prevention of potential death and disease. Melnyk said that doctors need to identify their patients who see themselves as social smokers and offer them advice and tools to quit altogether.

The usual question in an office visit is "do you smoke tobacco," and a social smoker will usually respond "no." The researchers suggest doctors ask their patients if they ever smoke, including in social situations, or if they can tell them the last time they had a cigarette. They should also be aware of the study's findings and use this information to make their patients aware that they're doing just as much harm as a daily smoker.

"Simple health lifestyle behavior changes including appropriate aspirin therapy, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, stress management and - very importantly - smoking cessation can do away with much of the risk of chronic disease," Melnyk said.

Gawlik recognizes that the study is just a sample of a few years and that her team didn't have other information like how many of the "social smokers" go on to become daily users.

"That's a huge area for clinical intervention because you might be able to reach them before they're completely and totally addicted," she said.