A cough from a puff ain't cool, Lady

Eisha Sarkar
Posted on Hello Wellness on Sep 7 2010 1:08PM

 

From keeping hunger at bay to being part of the 'cool gang' in college, women have many more reasons to smoke today than they had 20 years ago. But what starts as a fad, soon becomes fashion and then addiction. While tobacco smoke from cigarettes, cigars and pipes contain chemicals that are harmful to both men and women, women stand much more to lose for the puff. Smoking simply does NOT go with:

Oral contraceptives

Women smokers who use oral contraceptives show increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. This risk increases with age and women over 35 who smoke should not use oral contraceptives. This effect is more marked in women over 45.

Pregnancy

Chemicals in tobacco are passed from pregnant mothers through the bloodstream to the foetus and are associated with pre-term delivery, low birth-weight, placenta praevia, miscarriage and neonatal death. Smoking increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome, infant and perinatal deaths, learning disorders, attention deficit disorder and disruptive behaviour. Newborns whose mothers smoked during pregnancy have the same nicotine levels in their bloodstream’s as adults who smoke, and they go through withdrawal during their first days of life.

Fertility

The fertility of smoking women is 72 per cent that of non-smokers. Studies have found that 38 per cent of non-smokers conceived in their first cycle compared with 28 per cent of smokers and smokers are 3.4 times more likely than non-smokers to have taken more than one year to conceive.

Menstruation and menopause

Smokers often experience irregular periods are also more likely to experience unusual vaginal discharge or bleeding. Smoking causes women to reach natural menopause one to two years earlier than non-smokers or ex-smokers. Menstrual abnormalities and early menopause may be caused by a toxic effect on the ovaries or by the significantly lower levels of estrogens. Beginning to smoke as a teenager increases a woman’s risk of early menopause three times.

Bones

Women who smoke 20 cigarettes a day through adulthood will have reduced their bone density by around five to 10 per cent by the time they reach menopause, compared to non-smokers. This deficit in bone density is enough to increase the risk of fracture.

Hormones

Smoking causes women to enter menopause sooner and interrupts the menstrual cycle. While estrogen replacement therapy provides protection to menopausal women against osteoporosis, women who smoke face a serious increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke when using estrogens.

Lungs

Women who smoke and take hormone therapy are at a much higher risk of dying of lung cancer. Once rare among women, lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of female cancer death in some countries.

Skin

Smoking restricts blood vessels, preventing oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin. Thus, smokers appear pale and unhealthy. Studies have also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis. Cigarettes also leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.

Uterine health

Women who smoke cigarettes have a greater risk of developing cancers of the cervix and vulva. It is estimated that 19 per cent of cervical cancer and 40 per cent of vulvar cancer is caused by smoking.

Going smoke-free

Decide to quit on a particular date. You may have tried this before but there’s no harm in trying again. Every time you crave a cigarette, focus on something else (writing, work outs, people, hobbies, etc) or perform a few deep-breathing exercises. Drinking lots of water and fluids can help flush out the nicotine and other poisons from your body. Stay away from alcohol, sugar and coffee as these tend to stimulate the desire for a cigarette. Avoid fatty foods too, as your metabolism will slow down a bit without the nicotine, and you may gain weight even if you eat the same amount as before quitting. But most importantly, keep reminding yourself that you are a non-smoker and you choose to live a healthier life!