Even a small number of cigarettes doubles risk of heart disease

The toxic carbon monoxide exhaled (COex) by people who smoke 23 cigarettes a day is nearly three times higher than the maximum level accepted for air quality by the EU, according to a new study.

The COex among Maltese smokers measured in public places stood at 22.8 parts per million, when compared to the EU's maximum tolerance for ambient air pollution of 8.5ppm.

Interestingly, the level of COex measured in non-smokers in public places was also extremely high at 6.2ppm, considering they were not actually smoking.

The Help-COmets study was conducted among the 27 EU member states as part of the Union's campaign to measure exhaled carbon monoxide.

The operation, based on enabling citizens to measure their tobacco-related carbon monoxide concentration in exhaled air, was geared to provide an interactive and entertaining method for people to recognise the effects of tobacco smoke on their health.

The first part of the Help-COmets study, which surveys 111,835 smokers and non-smokers among member states, was launched at a press conference yesterday.

It was presented by Stephen D'Alessandro, as the representative of B&S Worldcom Brussels, on behalf of the European Commission.

Mr D'Alessandro gave a brief overview of the Help Campaign and the way in which the EU was promoting the benefits of life without tobacco, while Charmaine Gauci, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department director, spoke about the government's initiatives to address the problem of smoking in Malta.

Anne Buttigieg, department senior occupational therapist and project coordinator, said Malta's participation in the study was extremely high with 1,224 participants, 86 per cent of these being smokers.

Malta had the third highest participation rate among the EU27, thanks to the drive of the department and assistance from healthcare professionals acting as facilitators.

The participants simply had to take a deep breath for five to 10 seconds and exhale into a special device, so that the level of tobacco-related carbon monoxide could be accurately measured.

Carbon monoxide is an odourless, colourless gas that interferes with the delivery of oxygen in the blood to the rest of the body.

Explaining the study, Ms Buttigieg pointed out that of those taking part, the age bracket 0-14 showed that 50 per cent of females were smoking compared to 44 per cent males.

"These figures of smokers among such a young age group correlate with those published in the last Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (HBSC). It's worrying and we're tackling this through our health promotion campaigns," she said.

Ms Buttigieg said that studies showed that female smokers were particularly at risk - they doubled their risk of heart disease when they smoked even as little as three to five cigarettes a day. Men who smoke six to nine cigarettes a day also doubled their risk.

"People have to do away with the wrong perception that smoking a small number of cigarettes a day is harmless... It's not," she said.

The help campaign is aimed at convincing people to quit smoking, or not to start in the first place.

www.help-eu.com