den Berg MJ, et al. - Among the participants of the SMART-cohort, researchers quantified the association between smoking cessation following a first cardiovascular (CV) event and risk of recurrent CV events and death. They analyzed available data from 4,673 patients (aged 61 ± 8.7 years) with a recent (≤1 year) first manifestation of arterial disease. Using Cox models, they quantified the link between smoking status and risk of recurrent major atherosclerotic cardiovascular events (MACE including stroke, MI and vascular mortality) and death. A substantial lower risk of recurrent vascular events and all-cause mortality was observed in relation to the cessation of smoking following a first CV event, regardless of age at first CV event. Compared to any pharmaceutical treatment of major risk factors, smoking cessation was found to be more effective in attenuating CV risk, and thus, it should be a key goal for patients with vascular disease.