The Effects of Tobacco on Women and Smoking Health Issues

Updated on April 2, 2021

In the developing and developed countries, the use of tobacco and cigarette smoking was first started by men and eventually consumed by the women. This practice of smoking or taking tobacco is detrimental to both male and female, yet females are more susceptible to danger and suffer from deadly diseases. The countries which are facing an increase in female smokers are going to face devastating results within decades if no action is taken today. The people addicted to smoking are sure to face severe health problems more than non-smokers. Many consequences are seen hastily, while the signs of other diseases take time to be evident.

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The Effects of Tobacco on Women and Smoking Health Issues

As already said, tobacco and smoking have unpropitious effects on women as on the males who are addicted to cigars or tobacco. Let’s get insight into the effects of such deadly habits on women’s health.

Effects on Infants and Children

It has been seen that the women who smoke during pregnancy are likely to give birth to newborns weighing about 200g to 250g lower than those who do not smoke or use tobacco products. It has appeared that the breastfeeding span of female smokers is shorter than non-smoker women. They also produce less breast milk than women who do not smoke or inhale tobacco. The female smoker who smokes during pregnancy endangers her infant with:

  • risks of stillbirth
  • neonatal death
  • SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

Conceptive Problems

  • Ladies taking tobacco products or habituated to smoking face more reproductive issues than non-smoker women. They are at higher risk of facing primary and secondary infertility than the non-smoker females. 
  • their periods become irregular or painful
  • they suffer from frequent mood swing, tiredness, or vaginal dryness due to the low estrogen levels
  • they face difficulties to get pregnant
  • they face menopause at an early age

COPD Death  

Females having tobacco and cigarettes are expected to suffer from a pulmonary disease called COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases) more than females who do not smoke. It involves severe bronchitis and emphysema with airflow obstacles. The irony is, still no remedy is available for such a deadly condition. Anyone suffering from this illness faces difficulties to run respiratory activities properly, and the problem becomes more acute over time. The bad news for a female smoker is:

  • Every year the female patient of COPD is getting higher than the male
  • More females are dying because of COPD than males.

Heart Diseases 

According to a study on the citizens of the USA, it is found the reason of mortality is mostly because of cardiovascular diseases, and males and females habituated to cigarette or tobacco commodities are going to undergo such risks. People below fifty who suffer from heart problems are facing the consequence of consuming tobacco. For females, the consequence is even worse.

  • Compared to male smokers, female smokers above 35 are somewhat at a higher chance of succumbing to death suffering from heart problems. 
  • Women above 35 if smoke and also take oral contraceptives are prone to suffer from CHD (coronary heart disease). This danger is comparably low for females who have neither taken tobacco nor taken oral contraceptives.  
  • Female smokers are on the verge of an elevated danger of ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. 
  • The principal blood vein conveying blood from the heart to the entire body becomes frail of the females who take tobacco or cigarettes. It is called abdominal aortic aneurysm and female smokers are at a more elevated risk of dying by it than men.

Cancer

Studies say that smoking somehow contributes to almost one-fifth of all cancer mortality throughout the world. Female smokers are predisposed to suffer from many cancers including cancers of the lung mouth, esophagus, larynx, pharynx, pancreas, cervix, kidney, and severe xylogenous leukemia. Research says that 6% of new cancer occurrences in the underdeveloped and developing countries among women are due to tobacco consumption. The percentage is higher for developed countries with a rate of approximately 11%.

In the USA, the mortality rate of women between the ages of 30-49 dying due to lung cancer has been raised by about 800% from 1950 to 1987. Alarmingly, the number of women dying from lung cancer has exceeded the mortality of breast cancer in the USA.

Other Health Issues of Smoking

It has been found that females who have reached their menopause have lower bone density than non-smokers. Female smokers are at elevated risk of 31 to 84% of hip fractures.

It is assumed that depression among women is somehow related to tobacco consumption and smoking and needs further studies to evaluate the result.

Relinquishing smoking and tobacco products bring remarkable changes and benefits to women’s lives. Women quitting these deadly habits at the preceding step of gestation are likely to give birth to healthy infants, minimize the danger of losing the baby, and ectopic pregnancy, and experience much reduction in disease risks.

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The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.