Smoking leaves a lot of damage on the genome

Bad news for current and former smokers, new research by scientists shows: For every 15 cigarettes smoked,cigarette, your genes will mutate once. Even if you quit smoking, you cannot enter the safe zone of disease. Accordingly, the habitsmokeleaves damaging “footprints” on your genome for three decades.

For every 15 cigarettes you smoke, your genes will mutate once. Photo: Internet

This is caused by DNA methylation, an epigenetic process where a methyl group is inserted into DNA, changing its function. Abnormal DNA methylation can lead to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Although the number of people smoking has been decreasing each year, it is still the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. One important reason is that even after you stop smoking, you are still at high risk of many serious diseases, even decades later. Cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are still a constant threat to those who thought they were safe when they quit.

Scientists collected blood samples from nearly 16,000 volunteers, including both current and former smokers. Analyzing the methylation of DNA in their genomes, the scientists found that up to 7,000 genes are affected by smoking.

Most of them disappear after a person has quit smoking for about five years. But there are cases where DNA methylation remains in their genes for up to three decades. Some of these have been shown to be responsible for the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

However, if you are still smoking in your 50s, it is not too late to make a change. “The encouraging news is that once you stop smoking, most DNA methylation signals return to normal levels within five years. That means your body is also trying to heal the harmful effects of smoking.”