Even an occasional cigarette can endanger a person’s health and increase their risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

Researchers report that people who smoke as few as two cigarettes per day have a 57% higher risk of heart failure and a 60% higher risk of death from any cause.

They add that a person’s health risks decline significantly in the decade after quitting smoking. However, the researchers note that a former smoker can still have increased health risks three decades after giving up tobacco.

They say the main message from their research is for people to quit smoking as early as possible.

“Lower-intensity smoking is associated with cardiovascular risk and the primary public health message for current smokers should be early cessation, rather than reducing the amount of smoking,” the study authors wrote.

The researchers published their findings on November 18 in PLOS Medicine.

Experts not involved in the study say the research spotlights an important health issue facing the United States.

“This is a robust and important study,” said Kevin Shah, MD, a cardiologist and program director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in California.

“It provides compelling evidence that cigarette smoking — even at low levels — substantially increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death,” Shah told Healthline.

“These results highlight the tremendous continued negative impact that smoking has on public health,” added Cheng-Han Chen, MD, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA.