Cutting Back on smoking sounds reasonable. Isn't 5 Sickerettes a day better than 20 or 40? But decreasing the amount of Sickerettes you smoke even if you can maintain that new level which I was never able to do and probably would be very stressful for most of us on a daily basis - isn't as helpful as you might think!
New research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) smoking just one Sickerette a day still increases the risks of heart disease and stroke significantly!
Compared to not smoking at all, smoking one Sickerette a day results ina 46% greater risk of heart disease and a 25% greater risk of stroke for men.
Women fare even worse with a 57% greater risk of heart disease and a 31% greater risk of stroke.
The findings show that smoking any amount of Sickerettes carries high risks and even one Sickerette a day shouldn't be underestimated by smokers or by their Doctors.
As Dale so succinctly puts it, "If your quitting and smoking, you're doing it wrong!"
And, I think, cutting back only keeps the thoughts about smoking almost constant as you argue with yourself about when you can have the next one. It might help to continue the brainwashing that quitting is just too hard, as well!