Health Update: Deadly diets

Most smokers compound their sins with poor diets that may exacerbate the damage caused by cigarettes, say researchers from the Institute of Nutrition at Southampton University. In a study involving more than 2,000 smokers and non-smokers they found that smokers ate more white bread, sugar, cooked meats, butter and whole milk and less wholemeal bread, high fibre cereals, fruit and polyunsaturated fats. The report in the British Medical Journal says the smokers' diets contained less vitamin C and carotene - antioxidants that protect cells from damage by the free radicals which are present in high concentrations in tobacco smoke.