Remember when smoking was cool?

In a new study, even 1-4 cigarettes a day are a ticket to the morgue. But there’s “good news” for men.

Also, light smoking has a greater impact on women than on men, particularly as far as lung cancer [not heart disease] is concerned. Men who smoked 1-4 cigarettes a day were at a three times greater risk of developing lung cancer, while women who were light smokers presented a fivefold risk.

And there’s this food for thought for those who insist on the right to smoke in restaurants:

Passive smoking presents similar cardiovascular risks to light smoking, the results of the study show. A non-smoker living with a person who is a heavy smoker has 1/3 of the risk of that person, even if he/she inhales only approximately 1% of the smoke (the equivalent of 1 cigarette every 5 days).

I eat out a lot and, though sympathetic to many libertarian views, am glad I’m not putting myself at risk every time I go scarf a little sushi. The mercury problem is enough, thank you.