Smoking and Women

July 11, 2009

Smoking and Women

OK, so you know that smoking isn’t good for you, and you may have tried to quit in the past. Despite all the known health consequences of smoking, we know it’s hard to quit bad habits. But there is no safe amount of smoking. You owe it to yourself to quit now. Quitting smoking is beneficial at any age – you can do it!

Here is more information about exactly why smoking is dangerous to your health and how you can become a non-smoker.

If you are not a smoker, this information is still important, especially if you live with a smoker or work in an environment where smoking is prevalent.

Smoking: the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death

Smoking and tobacco use are significant risk factors for a variety of chronic disorders. According to the American Heart Association, cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States, accounting for 440,000 of the more than 2.4 million annual deaths.

Source: Cigarette Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease

Prevalence

According to the Surgeon General, the decline in smoking rates among adult women stalled in the 1990s, while at the same time, rates were rising steeply among teenaged girls, blunting earlier progress.

The prevalence of women age 18 and older who smoke is 20.7 percent in the United States. Smoking prevalence was highest among American Indian or Alaska Native women, intermediate among white women and black women, and lowest among Hispanic women and Asian or Pacific Islander women.

Smoking rates among white women, age 18 to 24, from families with lower education levels are substantially higher (61 percent) than smoking rates among black and Mexican-American youths (35 percent) from families with similar education levels. Smoking rates among women with less than a high school education are three times higher than for college graduates.

Teenaged girls who smoke

Nearly all women who smoke started as teenagers - and 30 percent of high school senior girls are still current smokers. In 2000, 29.7 percent of high school senior girls reported having smoked within the past 30 days. Adolescent girls who smoke have reduced rates of lung growth, which contributes to a number of health problems into adulthood.

Increased risk of premature death

Since 1980, approximately 3 million U.S. women have died prematurely from smoking related causes due to cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and pediatric diseases, as well as cigarette-caused burns. Each year during the 1990s, U.S. women lost an estimated 2.1 million years of life due to these smoking-attributable premature deaths. Additionally, women who smoke experience gender-specific health consequences, including increased risk of problems related to pregnancy and fertility.

Smoking and fertility

Women who smoke have increased risks for conception delay and for both primary and secondary infertility.

Smoking during pregnancy

Smoking during pregnancy remains a major public health problem. Even though the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy has declined steadily in recent years, there are still substantial numbers of pregnant women who continue to smoke (12.9 percent to as high as 22 percent, according to numbers reported by the Surgeon General in 1998). About one-third of women who stop smoking during pregnancy are still nonsmokers one year after the delivery.

Smoking during pregnancy affects you and your baby's health before, during, and after your baby is born. The nicotine, carbon monoxide, and numerous other poisons you inhale from a cigarette are carried through your bloodstream and go directly to your baby. Smoking while pregnant will:

Lower the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby
Increase your baby's heart rate
Increase the chances of miscarriage and stillbirth
Increase the risk that your baby is born prematurely and/or born with low birth weight
Increase your baby's risk of developing respiratory problems

The more cigarettes you smoke per day, the greater your baby's chances of developing these and other health problems. There is no "safe" level of smoking for your baby's health. If you continue to smoke after your baby is born, you increase his or her chance of developing certain illnesses and problems, such as:

Frequent colds
Bronchitis and pneumonia
Asthma
Chronic coughs
Ear infections
High blood pressure
Learning and behavior problems later in childhood

Smoking and menopause

Women who smoke are younger at natural menopause than non-smokers and may experience more menopausal symptoms. This is significant since menopause dramatically increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Postmenopausal women who currently smoke have lower bone density than do women who do not smoke. In addition, postmenopausal women who currently smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture compared with nonsmoking postmenopausal women.

Source: Women and Smoking, A Report of the Surgeon General

What’s the link between smoking and cardiovascular disease?

Smoking is a major cause of atherosclerosis - a buildup of fatty substances in the arteries. Atherosclerosis occurs when the normal lining of the arteries deteriorates, the walls of the arteries thicken and deposits of fat and plaque block the flow of blood through the arteries.

In coronary artery disease, the arteries that supply blood to the heart become severely narrowed, decreasing the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, especially during times of increased activity. Extra strain on the heart may result in chest pain (angina pectoris) and other symptoms. Coronary artery disease can lead to a heart attack.

In peripheral artery disease, atherosclerosis affects the arteries that carry blood to the arms and legs. As a result, the patient may experience painful cramping of the leg muscles when walking (a condition called intermittent claudication). Peripheral artery disease also increases the risk of stroke. Women who smoke have a greater risk for stroke.

What’s the link between smoking and heart attack?

Women who smoke are two to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmoking women. (source: Healthy Heart Handbook for Women, US Dept of Health and Human Services, NIH, 2005; http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/hhw/hdbk_wmn.pdf ) According to the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, just one to four cigarettes a day can double a woman’s risk of a heart attack.

Your risk of heart attack greatly increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke. There is no safe amount of smoking. Smokers continue to increase their risk of heart attack the longer they smoke. People who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day have more than twice the risk of heart attack than nonsmokers.

What’s the link between smoking and oral contraceptives?

Women who smoke and also use oral contraceptives (birth control pills) increase several times their risk of coronary and peripheral artery diseases, heart attack and stroke compared with nonsmoking women who use oral contraceptives.

What other medical conditions are linked with smoking?

Cigarettes have multiple poisons, including addictive nicotine, carbon monoxide, “tars” and hydrogen cyanide. There are 4,000 other chemicals of varying toxicity, including 43 known carcinogens. Smoking causes:

Decreased oxygen to the heart and to other tissues in the body
Decreased exercise tolerance
Decreased HDL (good) cholesterol
Increased blood pressure and heart rate
Increased risk of developing coronary artery disease and heart attack
Increased risk of developing peripheral artery disease and stroke
Increased risk of developing lung cancer, cervical cancer, throat cancer, chronic asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- Lung cancer kills more women than any other form of cancer each year. The majority of all lung-cancer deaths among women are smoking-related. Women over age 35 who smoke are 12 times more likely to die from premature lung cancer than women who don’t smoke.
Increased risk of developing diabetes
Increased risk of developing a variety of other conditions including gum disease and ulcers
Increase tendency for blood clotting
Increased risk of recurrent coronary artery disease after bypass surgery
Damage to cells that line coronary arteries and other blood vessels
Increased risk of becoming sick (especially among children: respiratory infections are more common among children exposed to secondhand smoke)

How does smoking affect others?

Cigarette smoke doesn’t just affect smokers. When you smoke, the people around you are at risk for developing health problems, especially children. Environmental tobacco smoke (also called passive smoke or secondhand smoke) is the combination of smoke from a burning cigarette and smoke exhaled by a smoker. The smoke that burns off the end of a cigarette or cigar contains more harmful substances (tar, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and others) than the smoke inhaled by the smoker.

Secondhand smoke can cause chronic respiratory conditions, cancer and heart disease. The American Heart Association estimates that each year, about 37,000 to 40,000 people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people’s smoke.

If you are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy, you increase your and your baby's risk of developing lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, allergies, asthma, and other health problems.

Infants born to women exposed to environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy have a small incidence of low birth weight and a slightly increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation compared to infants of nonexposed women.

Source: Women and Smoking, A Report of the Surgeon General

Infants exposed to second-hand smoke might also develop reduced lung capacity and are at higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

The benefits of quitting smoking

Now that you know how smoking can be harmful to your health and the health of those around you, here’s how quitting smoking can be helpful. By quitting smoking, you will:

Prolong your life. According to the American Heart Association, smokers who quit between ages 35-39 add an average of 6-9 years to their lives. Smokers who quit at ages 65-69 increase their life expectancy by 1-4 years.
Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of repeat heart attacks and death from heart disease by 50 percent or more.
Reduce your risk of high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease and stroke.
Reduce your risk for developing a variety of other conditions including diabetes, lung cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, chronic asthma, ulcers, gum disease and many other conditions.
Feel healthier. After quitting, you won’t cough as much, have as many sore throats and you will increase your stamina.
Look and feel better. Quitting can help you prevent face wrinkles, get rid of stained teeth, improve your skin and even get rid of the stale smell in your clothes and hair.
Improve your sense of taste and smell.
Save money.

How can I quit?

There’s no one way to quit that works for everyone. To quit smoking, you must be ready emotionally and mentally. You must also want to quit smoking for yourself, and not to please your friends or family. Plan ahead.

Before you quit:

(Check off these items as you accomplish them)

Pick a date to stop smoking and stick to it.

Record your reasons for quitting. Read over the list every day, before and after quitting.

Write down when you smoke, why you smoke and what you’re doing when you smoke to learn your smoking “triggers.”

Stop smoking in certain situations (such as at your work break or after dinner) before actually quitting.

Make a list of activities you can do instead of smoking.

Visualize yourself as a nonsmoker.

Tell your family and friends about your plans to quit and ask them for their support. Ask your family members who smoke to quit with you.

Ask your health care provider about using smoking cessation aids to help you quit smoking. Nicotine replacement aids include gum, nicotine patches, inhalers, sublingual (under-the-tongue) tablets, lozenges, nasal spray or prescription drugs.

Join a smoking cessation support group or program. See the section, “Where to Get Help” on the next page.

When you quit:

Get rid of all cigarettes.

Put away all smoking-related objects, such as ashtrays.

If you live with a smoker, ask that person not to smoke in your presence. Better yet, convince them to quit with you.

Don’t focus on your cravings. Remember that what you’re feeling is temporary and remind yourself why you want to quit.

Keep yourself busy! Review that list of activities you can do instead of smoking.

When you get the urge to smoke, take a deep breath. Hold it for ten seconds and release it slowly. Repeat this several times until the urge to smoke is gone.

Keep your hands busy. Doodle, play with a pencil or straw, or work on a computer.

Change activities that were connected to smoking. Take a walk or read a book instead of taking a cigarette break.

When you can, avoid places, people and situations associated with smoking. Hang out with non-smokers or go to places that don’t allow smoking, such as the movies, museums, shops or libraries.

Don’t substitute food or sugar-based products for cigarettes. Eat low-calorie, healthy foods (such as carrot or celery sticks, sugar-free hard candies) or chew gum when the urge to smoke strikes so you can avoid weight gain.

Drink plenty of fluids, but limit alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. They can trigger urges to smoke.

Remind yourself you are a nonsmoker. Nonsmokers don’t smoke!

Exercise. Exercising will help you relax.

What Happens When You Quit

After 20 minutes:

You stop polluting the air
Your blood pressure and pulse decrease
The temperature of your hands and feet increases

After 8 hours

The carbon monoxide level in your blood returns to normal
Oxygen levels in your blood increase

After 24 hours

Your risk of heart attack decreases

After 48 hours

Nerve endings adjust to the absence of nicotine
Your ability to taste and smell begin to return

After 2 weeks to 3 months

Your circulation improves
Your exercise tolerance improves

After 1-9 months

Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease
Your overall energy level increases

After 1 year

Your risk of heart disease decreases to half that of a current smoker

After 5-15 years

Your risk of stroke is reduced to that of people who have never smoked

After 10 years

Your risk of dying from lung cancer drops to almost the same rate as a lifelong NON-smoker
You decrease the incidence of other cancers – of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas

After 15 years

Your risk of heart disease is reduced to that of people who have never smoked

How will I feel when I quit?

You may crave cigarettes, be irritable, feel very hungry, cough often, get headaches, have difficulty concentrating or experience constipation. These symptoms of withdrawal occur because your body is used to nicotine, the active addicting agent within cigarettes.

When withdrawal symptoms occur within the first two weeks after quitting, stay in control. Think about your reasons for quitting. Remind yourself that these are signs that your body is healing and getting used to being without cigarettes.

The withdrawal symptoms are only temporary. They are strongest when you first quit but will go away within 10 to 14 days. Remember that withdrawal symptoms are easier to treat than the major diseases that smoking can cause. You may still have the desire to smoke. There are many strong associations with smoking, such as smoking during specific situations, with a variety of emotions or with certain people in their lives. The best way to overcome these associations is to experience them without smoking.

If you smoke again (called a relapse) do not lose hope. Seventy-five percent of those who quit relapse. Most smokers quit three times before they are successful. If you relapse, don’t give up! Review the reasons why you wanted to become a nonsmoker. Plan ahead and think about what you will do next time you get the urge to smoke.

Click here for additional Resources to help you quit smoking

source: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/women/smoking.aspx

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