1 in 5 U.S. Deaths Attributed to Smoking, High BPTUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) — Want to reduce your risk of dying prematurely? Don’t smoke and k

TUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) — Want to reduce your risk of dying prematurely? Don’t smoke and keep a healthy blood pressure level.

Each of those factors accounts for about one in five deaths among U.S. adults, according to new research.

Although both factors had previously been shown to be linked with premature death, the magnitude of the effect found in the new study was not expected, said Majid Ezzati, an associate professor of international health at the Harvard School of Public Health and the study’s lead author. The findings were published in the April issue of the online journal PLoS Medicine