African Americans who smoke are nearly 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke than those who never smoked, while former smokers show a similarly lower risk as never smokers, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The findings from the Jackson Heart Study suggests that even after years of smoking, African Americans — who as a group are twice as likely as whites to have a stroke and die from it — could significantly reduce their risk if they kicked the habit.

The study’s findings, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), both part of NIH, will appear online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

He noted that while smoking has been shown in major studies to raise the risk of stroke 1.5 times for the general population, “these adverse health effects seem to be magnified in African Americans.”

The Jackson Heart Study is supported and conducted in collaboration with Jackson State University (HHSN268201800013I), Tougaloo College (HHSN268201800014I), the Mississippi State Department of Health and the University of Mississippi Medical Center (HHSN268201800010I, HHSN268201800011I, and HHSN268201800012I) contracts from NHLBI and NIMHD.