The absolute risk of dying from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) if a person smokes is about 0.53%. The absolute risk of dying from COPD if a person doesn’t smoke is approximately 0.041%. - Pick one of the risk comparisons (absolute risk reduction or relative risk) and write a letter to a friend who just started smoking explaining to them the risks in regards to COPD. Try to use the data to convince your friend to stop smoking.