Morning Smoking Increases Cancer Risk

Submitted by Mark Berman Mon 08/15/2011

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Are you the kind of person who reaches for a cigarette moments after the alarm goes off in the morning? If so, you are more likely to develop cancer than smokers who can wait a while.

According to a report from CTV Winnipeg, two new studies say that people who smoke minutes after waking up have a higher risk of developing lung, head and neck cancers.

The studies out of Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey Pennsylvania, found that people who smoked within 30 minutes of waking up were 79% more likely to develop lung cancer. Those who smoked 31 to 60 minutes after waking were at a 31% higher risk.

The second study looked at cancers of the head and neck. Just like the first one, it found that people who smoked immediately in the morning had a 59% increased cancer risk, while those who waited had a 42% higher risk.

Lead author Dr. Joshua Muscat said those who smoke first thing in the morning may simply be more addicted than those who can wait.

"It may be a combination of genetic and personal factors that cause a higher dependence to nicotine," he said in a news release.

Both studies are published online in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society.

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