More that one in six American women still smoke.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics show that smoking-related diseases, such as heart disease and chronic lung disease, cause the deaths of about 178,000 women in the United States annually, and that they die 14.5 years prematurely, on average. The CDC's 2009 survey found that more than one in six American women still smokes, despite the serious health implications. The Surgeon General of the Public Health Service tries to focus attention on important public health issues by releasing educational reports on issues such as women and tobacco smoking.
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer, and not, as is commonly believed, breast cancer has become the leading cause of death among American women. Some 90 percent of these deaths are directly attributable to smoking. This includes nonsmoking women who have had exposure to tobacco smoke in the environment. Women smokers are 20 times more likely to die from lung cancer than nonsmoking women. Women smokers are also at greater risk of cancers of the oropharynx. bladder, kidneys, liver, esophagus and larynx. However, they may have a decreased risk of thyroid cancer.
Cardiovascular Disease
Smoking is the major cause of coronary heart disease for women under the age of 50. Risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the duration. Women smokers who use oral contraceptives are at an even higher risk of contracting the disease. Ischemic strokes, subarachnoid hemorrhages and carotid atherosclerosis are also more prevalent in women smokers. Women who cease smoking will have the same risk of these health issues as nonsmoking women after 15 years of abstinence.
Reproduction and Pregnancy
Women smokers have increased risks of conception delay and infertility. They also have an increase in ectopic pregnancies and spontaneous abortions. If women smoke while pregnant they run a modest risk of preterm delivery and a significant risk of delivering underweight infants. Perinatal mortality also increases. Smoking during pregnancy has declined steadily. However, it is thought that 12 to 22 percent of pregnant women still smoke, and only 30 percent of women who stop smoking during pregnancy continue to remain abstinent after their babies are born.
Mobility
Postmenopausal women smokers have lower bone density and an increased risk of hip fractures than their nonsmoking counterparts. They also have an elevated risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
Psychiatric Disorders
There is a higher prevalence of smoking for self-medication in women with depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder, bulimia and alcoholism. Women are less able to regulate nicotine intake than men, and sensory cues play a larger role in determining their smoking behavior.
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