Women and Smoking
An epidemic of smoking-related cancer and disease in women
In March 2001, the Office of the US Surgeon General released a long-awaited, detailed report called Women and Smoking, along with this statement:
When calling attention to public health problems, we must not misuse the word "epidemic." But there is no better word to describe the 600-percent increase since 1950 in women’s death rates for lung cancer, a disease primarily caused by cigarette smoking. Clearly, smoking-related disease among women is a full-blown epidemic. -- David Satcher, MD, PhD
Smoking is the most preventable cause of early death in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking-related diseases caused the deaths of about 174,000 women in each year from 2000 to 2004. On average, these women died 14.5 years earlier because they smoked.
The most recent CDC survey (from 2007) showed that more than 1 in 6 American women aged 18 years or older (17%) smoked cigarettes. The highest rates were seen among American-Indian and Alaska-Native women (36%), followed by white (20%), African-American (16%), Hispanic (8%), and Asian women (4%). The less education a woman has, the more likely it is she will smoke. For instance, women with less than a high school education are more than twice as likely to smoke as college graduates.
Overall, women are less likely to smoke than men. But it has been found that smoking is more popular among younger than older women. This is an alarming trend that will affect the future health of these young women. About 20% of women ages 25 to 44 smoke; only about 8% of women 65 and over do. If these younger women continue to smoke as they get older, they will have more smoking-related illness and disability. Smoking rates are slightly lower among women aged 18 to 24, a little more than 19%.
Women who smoke nearly always begin as teenagers -- usually before high school graduation. And the younger a girl is when she starts, the more heavily she is likely to use tobacco as an adult. Teenage girls are just as likely to smoke as boys. The most recent CDC surveys showed that 19% of female high school students and 6% of middle school girls had smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days. More than 9% of 12th grade girls reported that they had smoked at least one cigar in the past month (see also Cigar Smoking). Nearly 29% of the senior girls had used some form of tobacco in the past month.
How can smoking affect your health?
Cancers
Tobacco use accounts for nearly 1 in 3 cancer deaths. Tens of thousands of women will die this year from lung cancer, which has shot past breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women. Almost 90% of these deaths will be due to smoking.
Not only does smoking increase the risk for lung cancer, it's also a risk factor for other cancers:
* cervix
* mouth
* larynx (voice box)
* pharynx (throat)
* esophagus
* kidney
* bladder
* pancreas
* stomach
Smoking is also linked to some forms of leukemia.
Smoking raises your risk of heart disease and stroke
Women who smoke greatly increase their risk of heart disease (the leading killer among women) and stroke. Risk goes up with the number of cigarettes smoked and the length of time a woman has been smoking. Even though most of the women who die of heart disease are past menopause, smoking increases the risk more in younger women than in older women. Some studies suggest that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of heart disease even more among younger women who are also taking birth control pills.
Smoking damages your lungs
Smoking damages the airways and small air sacs in the lungs. It is related to chronic coughing and wheezing. More than 75% of deaths due to chronic bronchitis and emphysema -- together these are known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -- are caused by smoking. The risk goes up both with the number of cigarettes smoked each day and with the length of time a woman has been smoking. Female smokers aged 35 or older are almost 13 times more likely to die from emphysema or bronchitis than those who don't smoke. Smoking "low tar" or "light" cigarettes does not reduce these risks, or any of the other health risks of tobacco.
The lungs grow more slowly in teenage girls who smoke. Adult women who smoke start losing lung function in early adulthood.
Smoking causes other health problems
Smoking can cause or worsen poor blood flow in the arms and legs (peripheral vascular disease or PVD.) This can limit everyday activities such as walking. Even worse, surgery to improve the blood flow often fails in people who keep smoking. Because of this, many doctors who operate on blood vessels (vascular surgeons) won't do certain surgeries on patients with PVD unless they stop smoking. Stopping smoking lowers the risk of PVD. In people who already have PVD, quitting smoking improves the odds that treatment will work.
Women who smoke, especially after going through menopause, have lower bone density (thinner bones) and a higher risk for broken bones, including hip fracture, than women who do not smoke. They may also be at higher risk for getting rheumatoid arthritis and cataracts (clouding of the lenses of the eyes), as well as age-related macular degeneration, which can cause blindness.
Smoking affects your reproductive health
Tobacco use can damage a woman's reproductive health. Women who smoke are more likely to have trouble getting pregnant. Smokers are younger at menopause than non-smokers and may have more unpleasant symptoms while going through menopause.
Smoking can also cause problems during pregnancy that can hurt both mother and baby. Smokers have a higher risk of the placenta (the organ that protects and nourishes the growing fetus) growing too close to the opening of the uterus. Smokers are also more likely to have early membrane ruptures and placentas that separate from the uterus too early. Bleeding, early delivery (premature birth), and emergency Caesarean section (C-section) may result from these problems. Smokers are more likely to have miscarriages and stillbirths, too.
Smoking can affect your baby’s health
First of all, up to 5% of infant deaths would be prevented if pregnant women did not smoke.
More than 10% of women smoke throughout their pregnancies -- some studies put the number at 16% or higher. Smoking is linked to an increased risk of early delivery and infant death. Research also suggests that infants of mothers who smoke during and after pregnancy are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than babies born to non-smoking mothers. The risk of SIDS is somewhat less for infants whose mothers stop smoking during pregnancy, even if they start smoking again after delivery.
Of the women who are able to stop smoking during pregnancy, only 1 out of 3 stay quit a year after the delivery. But infants of non-smoking mothers have the lowest risk of SIDS.
Smoking during pregnancy causes low birth weight in at least 1 in 5 infants. Smoking during pregnancy slows fetal growth. This often causes babies to have health problems as a result of being born underweight. Women who stop smoking before they get pregnant reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby to that of women who never smoked. Even women who quit during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy have much healthier babies than those who keep smoking.
Many women are able to quit smoking during early pregnancy. But women who have mood disorders, such as depression, often find it much harder to quit. Researchers have learned that between one-third and one-half of women who smoke during pregnancy have a mood disorder. It can be harder to treat pregnant women for depression, anxiety, or nicotine withdrawal with medicines because of concerns about the drugs hurting the fetus. Counseling or mental health therapy may help some of these women. If the woman is unable to quit smoking with therapy, she may want to talk with her doctor about medicines that she can take during pregnancy.
After a baby is born, some harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke can also be passed on through breast milk. This can affect a baby right away. For instance, infants who were breast-fed by mothers who smoked slept for a full half-hour less than when the mothers didn't smoke (this was measured over 3½ hours right after breast feeding).
If you managed to quit smoking while you were pregnant, don't pick up the habit again after the baby is born. When you find yourself tempted to start back, get help right away. And keep in mind that parents who smoke are more likely to have children who smoke. So if you stay quit your child stands a better chance of never starting.
Secondhand smoke can affect your children's health
Almost 3 million children in the United States under the age of 6 breathe secondhand smoke at home at least 4 days per week. Studies show that older children whose parents smoke get sick more often. Their lungs grow less then children who do not live around smokers. They have bronchitis and pneumonia more often. They cough and wheeze more. Smoking can also trigger a child's asthma attack. More than 40% of children who go to the emergency room for asthma live with smokers. A severe asthma attack can be deadly.
Children who live with parents who smoke also get more ear infections. This often causes fluid to build up in their ears and they may need surgery to have ear tubes placed for drainage. Some of these problems may seem small, but they add up quickly: think of the expenses, doctor visits, medicines, lost school time, and often lost work time for the parent who must take the child to the doctor. And this doesn't include the discomforts that the child must go through.
The Surgeon General's report: Secondhand smoke kills people who don't smoke, and makes others sick
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), also known as secondhand smoke, has also been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer. The 2006 Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke stated that:
* Secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who
do not smoke.
* Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory infections, ear problems, and more
severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes breathing (respiratory) symptoms and
slows lung growth in their children.
* Secondhand smoke immediately affects the heart and blood circulation in a
harmful way. Over a longer time it also causes heart disease and lung cancer.
* The scientific evidence shows there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand
smoke.
* Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to
secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces, even though there has been
a great deal of progress in tobacco control.
* The only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke
indoors is to prevent all smoking in that indoor space or building.
Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilatin
buildings cannot keep non-smokers from being exposed to secondhand smoke.
Kicking the habit
More than 75% of women say they want to quit smoking. Almost half report having tried to quit in the past year. The chance of quitting and staying quit is about the same for both men and women, although there may be some ways women are different (see the section below, "Differences between women and men").
Quitting can help reduce the risk of many of the health effects listed above. The risk of heart disease is greatly reduced just 1 to 2 years after quitting. The risk of stroke returns to normal 10 to 15 years after quitting.
Many women are afraid to quit for fear of gaining weight. Some women who quit smoking do add a few pounds, mostly in the first year. Although figures vary, women gain an average of around 10 pounds after quitting. This amount of weight gain can usually be controlled through diet and exercise. But the health benefits of quitting are much greater than any problems posed by a small weight gain.
Differences between women and men
Some studies have shown there may be differences in men and women who are trying to quit smoking. A few studies, for instance, found that nicotine replacement therapies seemed to help men more than women. Studies of other medicines, such as bupropion (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) have not found such a difference -- men and women had the same success rates. Some of these studies used counseling or group support, which seemed to help both men and women quit and stay quit.
There is also a question about how monthly hormone changes can affect pre-menopausal women as they are quitting smoking. Studies have been mixed about whether it works better for women to try and quit during the first or last parts of their menstrual cycles. Most of the studies seem to support the idea that women may have stronger urges to smoke just before their menstrual periods are due to start. This is about the same time women may have pre-menstrual symptoms. Because of this, some experts recommend that women quit smoking after the pre-menstrual symptoms have passed. If you choose to do this, you may want to make a plan to deal with any pre-menstrual urges to smoke that may show up 2 or 3 weeks later.
Source : www.cancer.org
An epidemic of smoking-related cancer and disease in women
In March 2001, the Office of the US Surgeon General released a long-awaited, detailed report called Women and Smoking, along with this statement:
When calling attention to public health problems, we must not misuse the word "epidemic." But there is no better word to describe the 600-percent increase since 1950 in women’s death rates for lung cancer, a disease primarily caused by cigarette smoking. Clearly, smoking-related disease among women is a full-blown epidemic. -- David Satcher, MD, PhD
Smoking is the most preventable cause of early death in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking-related diseases caused the deaths of about 174,000 women in each year from 2000 to 2004. On average, these women died 14.5 years earlier because they smoked.
The most recent CDC survey (from 2007) showed that more than 1 in 6 American women aged 18 years or older (17%) smoked cigarettes. The highest rates were seen among American-Indian and Alaska-Native women (36%), followed by white (20%), African-American (16%), Hispanic (8%), and Asian women (4%). The less education a woman has, the more likely it is she will smoke. For instance, women with less than a high school education are more than twice as likely to smoke as college graduates.
Overall, women are less likely to smoke than men. But it has been found that smoking is more popular among younger than older women. This is an alarming trend that will affect the future health of these young women. About 20% of women ages 25 to 44 smoke; only about 8% of women 65 and over do. If these younger women continue to smoke as they get older, they will have more smoking-related illness and disability. Smoking rates are slightly lower among women aged 18 to 24, a little more than 19%.
Women who smoke nearly always begin as teenagers -- usually before high school graduation. And the younger a girl is when she starts, the more heavily she is likely to use tobacco as an adult. Teenage girls are just as likely to smoke as boys. The most recent CDC surveys showed that 19% of female high school students and 6% of middle school girls had smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days. More than 9% of 12th grade girls reported that they had smoked at least one cigar in the past month (see also Cigar Smoking). Nearly 29% of the senior girls had used some form of tobacco in the past month.
How can smoking affect your health?
Cancers
Tobacco use accounts for nearly 1 in 3 cancer deaths. Tens of thousands of women will die this year from lung cancer, which has shot past breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women. Almost 90% of these deaths will be due to smoking.
Not only does smoking increase the risk for lung cancer, it's also a risk factor for other cancers:
* cervix
* mouth
* larynx (voice box)
* pharynx (throat)
* esophagus
* kidney
* bladder
* pancreas
* stomach
Smoking is also linked to some forms of leukemia.
Smoking raises your risk of heart disease and stroke
Women who smoke greatly increase their risk of heart disease (the leading killer among women) and stroke. Risk goes up with the number of cigarettes smoked and the length of time a woman has been smoking. Even though most of the women who die of heart disease are past menopause, smoking increases the risk more in younger women than in older women. Some studies suggest that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of heart disease even more among younger women who are also taking birth control pills.
Smoking damages your lungs
Smoking damages the airways and small air sacs in the lungs. It is related to chronic coughing and wheezing. More than 75% of deaths due to chronic bronchitis and emphysema -- together these are known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -- are caused by smoking. The risk goes up both with the number of cigarettes smoked each day and with the length of time a woman has been smoking. Female smokers aged 35 or older are almost 13 times more likely to die from emphysema or bronchitis than those who don't smoke. Smoking "low tar" or "light" cigarettes does not reduce these risks, or any of the other health risks of tobacco.
The lungs grow more slowly in teenage girls who smoke. Adult women who smoke start losing lung function in early adulthood.
Smoking causes other health problems
Smoking can cause or worsen poor blood flow in the arms and legs (peripheral vascular disease or PVD.) This can limit everyday activities such as walking. Even worse, surgery to improve the blood flow often fails in people who keep smoking. Because of this, many doctors who operate on blood vessels (vascular surgeons) won't do certain surgeries on patients with PVD unless they stop smoking. Stopping smoking lowers the risk of PVD. In people who already have PVD, quitting smoking improves the odds that treatment will work.
Women who smoke, especially after going through menopause, have lower bone density (thinner bones) and a higher risk for broken bones, including hip fracture, than women who do not smoke. They may also be at higher risk for getting rheumatoid arthritis and cataracts (clouding of the lenses of the eyes), as well as age-related macular degeneration, which can cause blindness.
Smoking affects your reproductive health
Tobacco use can damage a woman's reproductive health. Women who smoke are more likely to have trouble getting pregnant. Smokers are younger at menopause than non-smokers and may have more unpleasant symptoms while going through menopause.
Smoking can also cause problems during pregnancy that can hurt both mother and baby. Smokers have a higher risk of the placenta (the organ that protects and nourishes the growing fetus) growing too close to the opening of the uterus. Smokers are also more likely to have early membrane ruptures and placentas that separate from the uterus too early. Bleeding, early delivery (premature birth), and emergency Caesarean section (C-section) may result from these problems. Smokers are more likely to have miscarriages and stillbirths, too.
Smoking can affect your baby’s health
First of all, up to 5% of infant deaths would be prevented if pregnant women did not smoke.
More than 10% of women smoke throughout their pregnancies -- some studies put the number at 16% or higher. Smoking is linked to an increased risk of early delivery and infant death. Research also suggests that infants of mothers who smoke during and after pregnancy are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than babies born to non-smoking mothers. The risk of SIDS is somewhat less for infants whose mothers stop smoking during pregnancy, even if they start smoking again after delivery.
Of the women who are able to stop smoking during pregnancy, only 1 out of 3 stay quit a year after the delivery. But infants of non-smoking mothers have the lowest risk of SIDS.
Smoking during pregnancy causes low birth weight in at least 1 in 5 infants. Smoking during pregnancy slows fetal growth. This often causes babies to have health problems as a result of being born underweight. Women who stop smoking before they get pregnant reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby to that of women who never smoked. Even women who quit during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy have much healthier babies than those who keep smoking.
Many women are able to quit smoking during early pregnancy. But women who have mood disorders, such as depression, often find it much harder to quit. Researchers have learned that between one-third and one-half of women who smoke during pregnancy have a mood disorder. It can be harder to treat pregnant women for depression, anxiety, or nicotine withdrawal with medicines because of concerns about the drugs hurting the fetus. Counseling or mental health therapy may help some of these women. If the woman is unable to quit smoking with therapy, she may want to talk with her doctor about medicines that she can take during pregnancy.
After a baby is born, some harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke can also be passed on through breast milk. This can affect a baby right away. For instance, infants who were breast-fed by mothers who smoked slept for a full half-hour less than when the mothers didn't smoke (this was measured over 3½ hours right after breast feeding).
If you managed to quit smoking while you were pregnant, don't pick up the habit again after the baby is born. When you find yourself tempted to start back, get help right away. And keep in mind that parents who smoke are more likely to have children who smoke. So if you stay quit your child stands a better chance of never starting.
Secondhand smoke can affect your children's health
Almost 3 million children in the United States under the age of 6 breathe secondhand smoke at home at least 4 days per week. Studies show that older children whose parents smoke get sick more often. Their lungs grow less then children who do not live around smokers. They have bronchitis and pneumonia more often. They cough and wheeze more. Smoking can also trigger a child's asthma attack. More than 40% of children who go to the emergency room for asthma live with smokers. A severe asthma attack can be deadly.
Children who live with parents who smoke also get more ear infections. This often causes fluid to build up in their ears and they may need surgery to have ear tubes placed for drainage. Some of these problems may seem small, but they add up quickly: think of the expenses, doctor visits, medicines, lost school time, and often lost work time for the parent who must take the child to the doctor. And this doesn't include the discomforts that the child must go through.
The Surgeon General's report: Secondhand smoke kills people who don't smoke, and makes others sick
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), also known as secondhand smoke, has also been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer. The 2006 Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke stated that:
* Secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who
do not smoke.
* Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory infections, ear problems, and more
severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes breathing (respiratory) symptoms and
slows lung growth in their children.
* Secondhand smoke immediately affects the heart and blood circulation in a
harmful way. Over a longer time it also causes heart disease and lung cancer.
* The scientific evidence shows there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand
smoke.
* Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to
secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces, even though there has been
a great deal of progress in tobacco control.
* The only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke
indoors is to prevent all smoking in that indoor space or building.
Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilatin
buildings cannot keep non-smokers from being exposed to secondhand smoke.
Kicking the habit
More than 75% of women say they want to quit smoking. Almost half report having tried to quit in the past year. The chance of quitting and staying quit is about the same for both men and women, although there may be some ways women are different (see the section below, "Differences between women and men").
Quitting can help reduce the risk of many of the health effects listed above. The risk of heart disease is greatly reduced just 1 to 2 years after quitting. The risk of stroke returns to normal 10 to 15 years after quitting.
Many women are afraid to quit for fear of gaining weight. Some women who quit smoking do add a few pounds, mostly in the first year. Although figures vary, women gain an average of around 10 pounds after quitting. This amount of weight gain can usually be controlled through diet and exercise. But the health benefits of quitting are much greater than any problems posed by a small weight gain.
Differences between women and men
Some studies have shown there may be differences in men and women who are trying to quit smoking. A few studies, for instance, found that nicotine replacement therapies seemed to help men more than women. Studies of other medicines, such as bupropion (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) have not found such a difference -- men and women had the same success rates. Some of these studies used counseling or group support, which seemed to help both men and women quit and stay quit.
There is also a question about how monthly hormone changes can affect pre-menopausal women as they are quitting smoking. Studies have been mixed about whether it works better for women to try and quit during the first or last parts of their menstrual cycles. Most of the studies seem to support the idea that women may have stronger urges to smoke just before their menstrual periods are due to start. This is about the same time women may have pre-menstrual symptoms. Because of this, some experts recommend that women quit smoking after the pre-menstrual symptoms have passed. If you choose to do this, you may want to make a plan to deal with any pre-menstrual urges to smoke that may show up 2 or 3 weeks later.
Source : www.cancer.org
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