Study: Smokers Who Start Young Risk Genetic Damage

Smokers who pick up the habit while they are teenagers are at the greatest risk of developing genetic changes in lung tissue that have been linked to cancer--even after they quit smoking, new research suggests.

The findings, which appear in this month's Journal of the National Cancer Institute , suggest that smoking during times of rapid lung growth and development may lead to long-lasting physiological changes.

"The research shows the effect of smoking is more long-lasting than people have thought in the past, even for ex-smokers," said Sally Thurston, a researcher at Harvard University's school of public health and a...