I smoke less than ten a day. Why should I quit?
Almost a third of smokers smoke fewer than 10 a day and often don't see the point of giving up. But most of the heart disease risk comes within the first few cigarettes of the day.
Next time you light up, feel your pulse. It will start rising within a minute. That's extra work for your heart, which gets less blood supply because of nicotine. Your blood tends to clot more with each cigarette, and the amount of oxygen it can carry goes down. Instead of oxygen the blood cells carry carbon monoxide. All of these are risk factors for heart disease.
