Tobacco.org

Women benefit from smoking cessation 

It's never too late to stop smoking. Each year tens of thousands of women die from lung cancer, which has passed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women. Almost 90 percent of these deaths will be due to smoking.

"It's no real secret that smoking isn't a healthy habit for anyone, but growing research suggests women are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of cigarettes than men," says Michele McPherson, thoracic services coordinator at Blount Memorial Hospital. We don't really know why, McPherson says, but it could be because women have smaller lungs. McPherson points out, "There also could be genetic differences in the way that men and women metabolize cigarette smoke, based on the genes they inherit."

Not only does smoking increase the risk for lung cancer in women, it places them at greater risks for other cancers like cervical, pancreatic, stomach, kidney and cancer of the mouth. Women who smoke, especially after menopause, have lower bone density, McPherson says, and a higher risk for broken bones and fractures.

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