Smoking: The Women's Health Perspective
If You Are a Woman, Don't Smoke Cigarettes!
We all have heard the warnings-- cigarettes can cause cancer and increase our risk of heart disease. But the sad fact is that approximately 23 million women in the US (23 percent of the female population) still smoke cigarettes. Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in this country, yet more than 140,000 women die each year from smoking related causes. The highest rate of smoking (27 percent) occurs among women between twenty-five and forty-four.
Despite all the warnings today's teens have heard about the dangers of smoking, the reality is that almost all of the new smokers today are teenagers and over 1.5 million teenage girls smoke cigarettes.
Women smokers suffer all the consequences of smoking that men do such as increased of risk various cancers (lung, mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, kidney, and bladder) and respiratory diseases, but as women we need explicit cognizance about the numerous smoking-related health risks which are uniquely ours. This article explores these risks and, hopefully, provides women smokers the further perception and inducement, perhaps, needed to stop smoking.
Oral Contraceptives and Smoking...
Do you use oral contraceptives or another hormonal method of birth control? Women smokers who use oral contraceptives risk serious consequences including increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. This risk increases with age and women over 35 who smoke should not use oral contraceptives.
Historically, a mild elevation in blood pressure often occurred in pill users. However, blood pressure often returned to normal "prepill" levels once oral contraceptives were discontinued. New studies indicate that high blood pressure is not a common problem for todays pill users, nonetheless all women using oral contraceptives should have their blood pressure checked every six to twelve months.
Pregnancy and Smoking...
Chemicals in tobacco are passed from pregnant mothers through the blood stream to the fetus. These toxic chemicals present serious risks to the unborn child, as well as the mother. According to "Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century," by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, "Smoking during pregnancy is associated with preterm delivery, low birthweight, premature rupture of membranes, placenta previa, miscarriage, and neonatal death. New borns whose mothers smoked during pregnancy have the same nicotine levels in their bloodstream's as adults who smoke, and they go through withdrawal during their first days of life."
Children born to mothers who smoke experience more colds, ear aches, respiratory problems, and illnesses requiring visits to the pediatrician than children born to nonsmokers.
Infertility and Smoking...
Is a baby part of your future plans? Many women today delay childbirth until they are in their thirties or even forties, which can cause fertility problems even for nonsmoking women. But women who smoke and delay childbirth are putting themselves at a substantially greater risk of future infertility than nonsmokers.
The fact is women smokers have around 72 percent of the fertility of nonsmokers. When all other factors are equal, it is 3.4 times more likely that smokers will require over one year to conceive.
Increasingly, studies are showing that decreased ovulatory response, as well as the fertilization and implantation of the zygote may be impaired in women who smoke. Thought is also given that chemicals in tobacco may alter the cervical fluid, making it toxic to sperm causing pregnancy to be difficult to achieve.
We can't leave the men out on this one, though. Men smokers are 50 percent more likely to become impotent. Some of the toxic chemicals found in cigarettes may result in gene mutations that can cause miscarriage, birth defects, cancer, and other health problems in their children.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) and Smoking...
Pelvic inflammatory disease occurs with 33 percent more frequency in smokers than in nonsmokers. PID is a painful disease that requires immediate medical intervention and is often a contributing factor in ectopic pregnancies, as well as pelvic adhesions and other fertility problems.
Premature Menopause, Menstruation, and Smoking...
Beginning to smoke as a teenager increases a woman's risk of early menopause three times. Smokers often notice symptoms of menopause two to three years earlier than nonsmokers.
Menstrual problems such as abnormal bleeding, amenorrhea (absence of periods), and vaginal discharges/infections are common complaints among women who smoke.
Menstrual abnormalities and early menopause may be caused by a toxic effect on the ovaries or by the significantly lower levels of estrogens noted in many studies of women smokers.
Hormones and Smoking...
Estrogen replacement therapy provides beneficial protection, to post menopausal women against the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. But these benefits are many times negated by the increased health risks associated with smoking while taking hormones.
Women who smoke face a serious increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke when using estrogens. This risk should be discussed with your physician before beginning hormone replacement therapy, if you are a smoker. Your doctor will assist you if you choose to quit smoking.
Osteoporosis and Smoking...
Osteoporosis affects most of us if we live long enough. But there are certain things we can do to reduce our risk of osteoporosis such as participating in regular physical activity and making sure we are getting 1000mg to 1500mg of calcium daily. Smoking causes a significant increase in the risk of bone loss and osteoporosis. Women who smoke, one pack of cigarettes a day, often experience a loss of bone density equaling five to ten percent more than nonsmokers by the time they reach menopause.
Bone density scanning, to determine the density of your bone structure, is recommended for all women beginning at age 40. Bone density scanning is particularly crucial for women smokers so that changes can be noted and treatment can ensue if osteoporosis is noted.
Heart Disease and Smoking...
Approximately 34,000 deaths in women from ischemic heart disease are attributed to smoking each year. Although most of these deaths are in women past menopause, the risk of smoking-related heart disease is significantly higher in young women smokers.
Researchers in Denmark have found a fifty percent greater risk of heart attack in women smokers over men smokers. This difference may be due to the interaction of estrogen with the chemicals found in cigarettes.
Cervical
Cancer and Smoking... All women
should have annual Pap
smears
and for women who smoke the necessity is even greater.
Studies show that smoking may lead to the development of
cervical cancer; one study found an 80 percent greater risk
of developing cervical cancer in smokers. Cervical
cancer
patients who quit
smoking
or who cut down, by at least 75 percent, may have a greater
chance of remission and survival than patients who continue
smoking. Some
thought is given that chemicals found in cervical tissue
which are also found in cigarettes may weaken the ability of
cervical cells to fight off infection and may create a
potential breeding ground for abnormal
cervical cells
to multiply. Breast
Cancer and Smoking... The
American Cancer Society published the results of a study in
1994 which indicated that breast cancer patients who smoke
may increase their risk of dying at least twenty-five
percent--a risk that increases with the number of cigarettes
smokes per day. The possible risk of fatal breast
cancer
rises up to seventy-five percent for women who smoke two
packs or more per day. The good
news is that if you quit now your potential risk of dying as
a result of future breast cancer remains the same as for a
nonsmoker. Vulvar
Cancer and Smoking... Another
type of cancer which may occur more frequently in smokers is
vulvar
cancer.
Smokers experience a forty percent higher risk of developing
this, devastating, type of gynecological cancer. Plan
ahead to quit smoking on a certain day. When your quit
smoking day arrives, make sure you have thrown out all
the ashtrays and cigarettes you have in your home, so you
won't be tempted. Have
plenty of raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, celery,
ect. available for the times you feel like eating as a
result of your desire to have something in your
hand/mouth. Many
women fear gaining
weight
as a result of quitting smoking. Participating in a
vigorous
exercise program
three times per week may help you quit and
exercise
helps reduce any subsequent weight gain, as well as
providing overall health benefits. Joining
a support group and actively participating often helps
women when difficult times or emotional
conflicts
occur. About.com's Christine Rowley maintains the
Quit
Smoking
site and offers support through bulletin boards, chats,
and email. She offers feature articles that explore all
aspects of quitting smoking and provides an extensive
library of Net links designed to help you quit
smoking. Over-the-counter
methods that supply nicotine in forms such as gums like
Nicorette and patches, such as the Nicoderm
C Q patch,
help many people decrease the physical symptoms of
nicotine withdrawal. Never smoke simultaneously with one
of these methods--nicotine overdose may occur. See
your physician if you need further assistance achieving
your quit smoking goal. He can offer additional methods
which are available by prescription.
Quit
Smoking Special
Have
a question? Or some advice to share?
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