Quitting smoking 'cuts heart risk despite weight gain'

Stopping smoking cuts the risk of heart disease even if it leads to significant weight gain, a US study says.

Researchers writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association say the prospect of weight gain makes some smokers reluctant to stop.

But they say quitting has a "positive effect on cardiovascular risk".

The health gains from giving up were most marked in people who did not have diabetes, but people with the condition were still said to have benefited.

Recent quitters who had stopped smoking for up to four years experienced almost the same benefit with a 53% lower relative risk.

This was despite recent quitters typically gaining 5-10lb over a period of four years, and long-term quitters 1-2lb.

Dr James Meigs, one of the authors of the study at Harvard Medical School, said: "We can now say without question that stopping smoking has a very positive effect on cardiovascular risk for patients with and without diabetes, even if they experience moderate weight gain."

Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said weight gain should not deter smokers from quitting.