A supplementary method of demonstrating the mortality risk from smoking (or obviously from any other “risk factor”) is proposed. By subjecting cigarette smokers to two mortality risks, one the non-smokers' death rate and the other the “excessive” death rate of smokers, a multiple decrement life table for smokers can be computed. From this table, one can determine the probability of death as a direct result of cigarette smoking for a person aged 37 who continues his present cigarette habit for the remainder of his life. The probability of death from cigarette smoking before age 87 ranges from a low of 12.5 percent for females to a high of 50.7 percent for males who inhale deeply.