Although nongender-specific risks o...

Although nongender-specific risks of smoking have been well publicized, many women are unaware of the tobacco-related risks unique to women according to a report by way of the U.S. Surgeon General. The sated text of "Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General" is available online at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5112a4.htm.

Since the first Surgeon General's report forward women and smoking was published in 1980 an epidemic of tobacco-related diseases has occurr Lung cancer, formerly rare among women, currently accounts for 25 percent of all female cancer deaths. observes indicate that many women are not aware that lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of female cancer deaths.

The once-wide sex gap in smoking prevalence has narrowed, and the rate is nearly three times higher among women with barely nine to 11 years of education than among college-educated women Although smoking rates among girls declined in the 1970 and 1980 often of that progress was squandered in the 1990s, and new data suggest that cigar smoking among women and girls is increasing. Females in the United States misspent an estimated 2.1 million years of life in the 1990 as a arise of smoking-related deaths.

Smoking has been linked to increased risks for several cancers, including cancer of the cervix, vulva, oropharynx, bladder, pancreas, liver, kidneys, and colorectal a whole Women who smoke are also at increased risk for acute myeloid leukemia, coronary heart disease, ischemic hardship subarachnoid hemorrhage, peripheral vascular atherosclerosis, ruptur abdominal aortic aneurysm, estrogen-deficiency disorders, Graves' ophthalmopathy, peptic sore s Crohn's disease, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration. Limited data propose that women smokers may be at increased risk for human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Smoker are more likely than nonsmokers to be abaseed or have anxiety disorders, bulimia, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, or alcoholism.

Menstrual disorders associated with smoking include dysmenorrhea, secondary amenorrhea, menstrual irregularity, and younger age at menopause. Women who vanity have increased risks for conception delay and primary and secondary infertility.

Pregnant women who effluvium increase the risk for preterm premature burst of membranes, abruptio placentae, placenta previa, preterm delivery, perinatal mortality (including stillbirth and neonatal deaths), and quick infant death syndrome. Smoking during pregnancy appears to have decreased above the past decade, although the rate still may be as high as 22 percent

an clinical intervention studies have prompted that women may have more difficulty quitting smoking than men however data show that women are quitting at similar or on a level higher rates than men. Prevention and cessation efforts generally have similar efficacy rates among women and men To date, not many gender differences in factors related to smoking initiation and cessation have been identified, although adolescent girls are more likely than adolescent lads to respond to smoking cessation programs that include social support.

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

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