Even healthy-looking smokers have cells damage which could lead to lung cancer

Even healthy-looking smokers have early cell damage which could lead to cancer, say experts.

A study has shown that even if X-rays and other health test results are normal, airway cells in smokers show early damage by having activated genes seen in aggressive lung cancer.

Experts found that in the cells lining the airways of the smokers' lungs, human embryonic stem cell genes associated with cancer had been turned on.

Researchers compared cells that line the airway from healthy non-smokers with those from smokers with no detectable lung disease.

The smokers' cells showed early signs of impairment, similar to that found in lung cancer -- providing evidence that smoking causes harm, even when there is no clinical evidence that anything is wrong.

Moral of the story: There is nothing as a healthy looking smoker. Cigarette kills.