Men who smoke may be able to lower their risk of lung cancer 60 percent by drinking red wine, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente researchers.

Among the 84,000 men studied, there was on average a 2 percent lower lung cancer risk associated with each glass of red wine consumed per month, according to a news release on the work.

The most substantial risk reduction was among smokers who drank one to two glasses of red wine per day. They had the 60 percent reduction in risk.

Researchers warned men to stop smoking as the best way to reduce lung cancer risk, noting that even smokers who drank one to two glasses of red wine per day still face higher lung cancer risk than do non-smokers.

One-quarter of a percent of the men got lung cancer during the three-year study -- 210 cases. The news release did not say what percentage of the cohort were smokers, so it is not clear how many cases of lung cancer could have been prevented by drinking wine.

The work also looked for protective effects for beer, white wine and other liquor, but no clear connections were found.

"Red wine is known to contain high levels of antioxidants. There is a compound called resveratrol that is very rich in red wine because it is derived from the grape skin. This compound has shown significant health benefits in preclinical studies," study author Chun Chao said.