Tests have shown that women may, on average, find it harder to give up smoking than men. This is despite the fact that women are often more at risk to smoking related diseases than men. A woman's menstrual cycle can affect the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine is an alkaloid. It is found in tobacco and coca, and in lower quantities in tomato, potato, eggplant (aubergine), and green pepper. Nicotine constitutes approximately 0.6 - 3.0% of dry weight of tobacco.
Smoking can interrupt the menstrual cycle and may cause women to enter menopause earlier than otherwise. Depending on what phase their cycle is in when they start an anti-smoking programme, it may alter how they respond to some anti smoking treatments. Among the sociological factors, women tend to be more concerned about gaining weight if they try to stop smoking. Women may also be more susceptible to environmental factors than men, associating smoking with specific moods or friends. Women and girls may be more susceptible to peer pressure and advertising.
Women smokers are just as vulnerable to serious health problems like lung cancer or cardiovascular disease as their male counterparts. In women, however, smoking carries an increased risk of cardiovascular disease because it can affect their hormones, causing an oestrogen deficiency. Estrogen is a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the estrous cycle, and they function as the primary female sex hormone.
Women smokers are 10 times more likely to die from bronchitis (an inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs) or emphysema (a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and 12 times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smoking women. The rates of life-threatening smoker-related diseases are even worse for post-menopausal women and women taking birth control pills. Women who smoke and are also use oral contraceptives may have an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke. If you are a woman smoker aged between 35 and 64 then you are statistically nearly five times more likely to suffer from a stroke (rapidly developing loss of brain functions) than a non-smoking woman the same age.
In the developed nations like USA, lung cancer now accounts for 25% of all cancer deaths among women and has surpassed breast cancer as the leading form of cancer death. Smoking is believed to double the risk of cervical cancer. About 30% of all cervical cancers have been attributed to women smoking.
Smoking by women puts them at a higher risk of early menopause and infertility. If women smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day or have started smoking before they were 18 years of age are placed at a greater risk of infertility. Women who smoke are also put at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and other degenerative bone disorders. Smoking hinders the flow of blood to the bones and retards the creation of the cells that form new bone.
Pregnancy and smoking
Women smokers who are pregnant run a greater risk of pregnancy complications, pre-term delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death. Smoking can result in low birth-weight as babies born to smokers are on average 7 ounces lighter than those of non-smokers. If a women smokes while pregnant she is thought to have a 33% higher chance of losing her baby before or just after its birth. Even after a child is born, smoking by a parent increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome, infant and prenatal deaths, learning disorders and attention deficit disorder in young children.
Women who are pregnant, or are intending to become pregnant, generally should not use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) because of the damage that nicotine can do to the fetus. Women who are breast-feeding should not use NRT because the nicotine that passes into the system can easily enter the breast milk
Smoking can interrupt the menstrual cycle and may cause women to enter menopause earlier than otherwise. Depending on what phase their cycle is in when they start an anti-smoking programme, it may alter how they respond to some anti smoking treatments. Among the sociological factors, women tend to be more concerned about gaining weight if they try to stop smoking. Women may also be more susceptible to environmental factors than men, associating smoking with specific moods or friends. Women and girls may be more susceptible to peer pressure and advertising.
Women smokers are just as vulnerable to serious health problems like lung cancer or cardiovascular disease as their male counterparts. In women, however, smoking carries an increased risk of cardiovascular disease because it can affect their hormones, causing an oestrogen deficiency. Estrogen is a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the estrous cycle, and they function as the primary female sex hormone.
Women smokers are 10 times more likely to die from bronchitis (an inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs) or emphysema (a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and 12 times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smoking women. The rates of life-threatening smoker-related diseases are even worse for post-menopausal women and women taking birth control pills. Women who smoke and are also use oral contraceptives may have an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke. If you are a woman smoker aged between 35 and 64 then you are statistically nearly five times more likely to suffer from a stroke (rapidly developing loss of brain functions) than a non-smoking woman the same age.
In the developed nations like USA, lung cancer now accounts for 25% of all cancer deaths among women and has surpassed breast cancer as the leading form of cancer death. Smoking is believed to double the risk of cervical cancer. About 30% of all cervical cancers have been attributed to women smoking.
Smoking by women puts them at a higher risk of early menopause and infertility. If women smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day or have started smoking before they were 18 years of age are placed at a greater risk of infertility. Women who smoke are also put at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and other degenerative bone disorders. Smoking hinders the flow of blood to the bones and retards the creation of the cells that form new bone.
Pregnancy and smoking
Women smokers who are pregnant run a greater risk of pregnancy complications, pre-term delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death. Smoking can result in low birth-weight as babies born to smokers are on average 7 ounces lighter than those of non-smokers. If a women smokes while pregnant she is thought to have a 33% higher chance of losing her baby before or just after its birth. Even after a child is born, smoking by a parent increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome, infant and prenatal deaths, learning disorders and attention deficit disorder in young children.
Women who are pregnant, or are intending to become pregnant, generally should not use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) because of the damage that nicotine can do to the fetus. Women who are breast-feeding should not use NRT because the nicotine that passes into the system can easily enter the breast milk
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