We all know that lighting up is a really stupid idea, but researchers just announced that lighting up is a really, really
stupid idea for women. (OK, those weren’t the scientists’ exact words,
but am paraphrasing.) The study, which examined over two million
people around the world and was published in the medical journal Lancet yesterday, female smokers have a higher risk of heart disease than guys who puff.
For every year that a woman smokes, her excess risk of heart disease
goes up two percent more than it does for a male smokers, according to
the findings. And overall, the increased risk of heart disease for a
smoking woman is 1.25 times higher for than for men. The investigators
also speculated that women might receive more carcinogens or toxins from
smoking the same number of cigarettes than men, according to an article
on CBC.ca.
That same article notes that while there’s a greater number of male
smokers in the world, they’re more likely to quit than women.
We’d complain about this being unfair (à la periods, cramps, pain of
childbirth, etc.), but we can’t considering there’s an easy fix. Just
don’t smoke, ladies.
And by the way, it’s not only a pack-a-day habit that jeopardizes
your health. Part-time puffers are still at risk for heart disease,
along with a whole host of other problems, including lung cancer,
damaged eggs, problems conceiving, and a higher miscarriage rate than
nonsmokers. Find out more about the dangers of social smoking here.
Kanyi Okeke
