According to one of the research, it has been found that the smell and taste of cigarettes play a bigger role in the smoking behavior of women than that of men. Another study found that cognitive-behavioral therapy aimed at changing attitudes about weight promotes smoking cessation in women. Even if we compare their statistics with those of men, we will be surprised to learn that boys who smoke are one in three. However, while smoking and smoking-related deaths from diseases such as lung cancer have decreased in men, they have increased in women. Smoking, in fact, affects the health of women more than that of men; a woman who smokes loses, on average, 15 years of her life, while a man who smokes loses just over 13 years.
In the first half of the 20th century, lung cancer in women was extremely rare. Besides that, smoking was not very common. Unfortunately, that soon changed when the tobacco industry started targeting women. In 1964, the first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health was published and it became clear that smoking was a deadly habit affecting 45% of women worldwide. A media campaign followed, and smoking rates began to fall, as did tobacco industry profits. But the rates fell more in men than in women; the tobacco industry had launched its own media campaign, once again marketing directly to women.
Lung cancer
By 1987, lung cancer had overtaken breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women.
Today, more women die each year from lung cancer than from breast cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer combined. In fact, lung cancer among women is now considered a scourge, killing nearly 75,000 in the US last year. Women seem to be more vulnerable to lung cancer than men and tend to get it at younger ages.
Lung cancer symptoms
or shortness of breath
o Fever of unknown cause
Hoarseness
or brisket bread
wheezing
or coughing up blood
or chronic cough
o Weight loss and loss of appetite
o Repeated episodes of bronchitis or pneumonia
Other diseases influenced by smoking in women
While lung cancer may be the deadliest disease caused by smoking, it’s not the only one. Smoking doubles the risk of having a heart attack and increases the risk of dying from a heart attack within the first hour. This is an especially serious problem for women, since women are more likely to die after a first heart attack than men. Women using birth control pills; and smoke are at especially high risk of heart attack.
Smoking also increases the risk of other cancers, including breast, uterine, bladder, and oral cancers. Smoking also increases a woman’s risk of low bone density and osteoporosis.
Smoking-Related Disorders in Women
or heart disease
oCareer
or lung cancer
or emphysema
or oral cancer
or cancer of the uterus
or breast cancer
or bladder cancer
or rectal cancer
o Colorectal polyps
Osteoporosis
or infertility
or early menopause
or Abortions
or Stillbirths
Family matters
Smoking isn’t just bad for women; it is bad for their families and also for future families. Smoking can cause infertility in women. If a woman becomes pregnant, smoking increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth. Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are also more likely to have babies with asthma, sleep disorders, and chronic ear infections than mothers who don’t smoke. The phase of the menstrual cycle has an effect on both mood and tobacco withdrawal symptoms in women trying to quit, a finding that strongly suggests that women could improve their success rate simply by trying to quit. smoking during certain days of your cycle.
Cosmetics and other considerations
Ironically, teenage girls and young women often think that smoking is sexy and glamorous. However, the consequences, such as stained fingers and teeth, tooth loss, gum disease, bad breath, are anything but sexy and glamorous. Smoking also speeds up the aging process probably due to its adverse effect on estrogen. It can cause early menopause, facial wrinkles and permanent decrease in voice, and urinary incontinence.
Old habits die hard
Women and girls are not only more susceptible than men to the negative consequences of smoking; they are more likely to become addicted to cigarettes even when smoking comparable amounts.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to a man…and a woman. Researchers are studying gender differences in smoking behavior and working to develop treatment plans that help more women break their nicotine addiction. In fact, nicotine is considered more addictive than heroin or cocaine. And nicotine is more addictive for women than it is for men.
The highly addictive nature of nicotine is one of the main reasons most people have a hard time quitting, with women having a harder time quitting than men. Another thing that makes quitting smoking difficult for women is the weight gain that unfortunately often accompanies quitting smoking. On the other hand, weight gain, which rarely exceeds five pounds, can be reversed with a healthy diet and exercise.
More importantly, quitting smoking can also reverse many of the deadly consequences of the habit.
weigh the benefits
A woman who quits smoking reduces her risk of stroke to pre-smoking levels. Within a year, your smoking-related heart disease risk is reduced by 50 percent. After three years, the risk of having a heart attack is no greater than that of a woman who never smoked. Within five years, your smoking-related heart disease risk may disappear entirely. Clearly, the benefits of quitting outweigh the possibility of any weight gain. So think again… Are we on the right track?
