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What Smoking Can Do To A Woman's Health
Recent decades have witnessed the increasing number of women who smoked, regardless of age and race. Today kills
more women than breast cancer. Millions of women have died - and will die - because of tobacco use. A sad reality tells us that while cigarettes offer a temporary relief, its health risks last much longer.
I. Statistics
Smoking is a major public health concern among women in the United States. From 1997 to 2001, it resulted to an estimated annual average of 178,000 deaths among US women.
Since 1980, nearly 3 million women died prematurely due to smoking-related health problems. is now the number one
cause of death, even surpassing breast cancer. It is predicted that will kill nearly 68,000 women this year, much
higher than breast cancer (41,000).
Women account for 39% of all smoking-related deaths each year, a figure that has more than doubled since 1965.
Among ethnical races in the US, smoking is most prevalent in American-Indian women (28.5%), followed by non-Hispanic whites
(20.4%), and non-Hispanic blacks (17.2%). It has the lowest prevalence rate in Asians (4.8%) and Hispanics (10.9%).
When it comes to educational achievements, it has the highest prevalence rate among women who had a GED diploma (39.6%),
followed by women who have 9 to 11 years of education (34%), and lowest among women with 16 years of education (11.2%).
II. Factors That Drive Women To Smoke
The tobacco industry has creatively marketed cigarette brands to women, thanks to clever marketing strategies.Ads featuring beautiful women with cigarettes imply independence, glamour, and social desirability, driving women to think that it will greatly enhance their lifestyle.
Environmental and social factors come to play in influencing women to smoke. Those who get into the habit have parents who smoke and who have weaker bonds with them. These women generally have weak performance in school, are less attached to religion, and belong to peers who smoke.
Musical, artistic, and social events targetted at women like fashion shows and concerts have tobacco companies as their sponsors, thus, presenting themselves to the public in a more presentable fashion.
III. Health Risks Of Smoking To Women
Smoking has been a leading cause of preventable death in The us. Women who smoke increase their risk of various types of cancers, like cancers of the lung, lip. oral cavity and pharynx, cervix, urinary bladder, kidney, liver and pancreas.
They are 2-6 times more likely to suffer from a heart attack, and these chances increase depending on the intensity and the number of cigarettes they smoke each day.
The risk of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increase ten fold, and 90% of these deaths
are associated with smoking.
Smoking damages the skin. It's because it narrows the blood vessels in the outermost layers of your skin, reducing the supply of oxygen. It also damages collagen and elastin, two fibers that give your skin elasticity.
Female smokers greatly increase their risk of developing hip fracture, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, women who abstain from the habit reduce their risk of developing stroke. After5-15 years of abstinence, their risk is almost the same as those of non-smokers.
Female non smokers are likely to suffer from the dangers of tobacco use as well, due to their exposure to secondhand smoke.
Women are likely to die from due to passive smoking. Approximately 3,000 of them die annually from lung cancer, while 35,000 of them die due to cardiovascular disease.
Children exposed to secondhand smoke have 50% greater chances of developing later in life, compared to those who were not. This is according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. A team of researchers led by Professor Paolo Viners of Imperial College of London tracked more than 123,000 non-smokers but were exposed to secondhand smoke as children and compared their health status to those who had not been exposed to passive smoking. They found out that 97% of passive smoking youngsters suffered from lung cancer, 20 others had upper respiratory cancers and 14 of them died from COPD, also caused by smoking.
IV. How Women Can Quit Smoking
But there is hope to women who want to quit. Quitting at any age is beneficial. Women who abstain from smoking reduce their risk of heart disease, regardless of age. This will be reduced within 1 to 2 years of quitting. They also decrease their risk of dying prematurely.
1. Get as many support as possible. Be part of social network groups of smokers who want to quit, and interact with former smokers and ask for advice.
2. Do other things that will divert your attention from smoking. When bored, you'll likely get a pack of cigarettes. In this case, enjoy another hobby.
3. Quit slowly. Reduce the number of sticks you smoke each day. Completely withdrawing will make you look for a whole pack and destroy your plans.
Tobacco use is not good to everyone. Much studies have been done in the past. But the question is, are you ready to quit?
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