Young smokers risk heart attack

PEOPLE aged under 40 are five times more likely to have a heart attack if they smoke, according to a study published yesterday.

The report’s authors said the findings, based on figures compiled for the World Health Organisation, put paid to the idea that only older smokers are at risk.

The experts, who studied almost 23,000 non-fatal heart attacks between 1985 and 1994, found 80% of victims aged 35-39 were smokers.