Cigarette smoking was rare among women in the early 20th century and became prevalent among women after it did among men. In 2005, 20.3 million (18.1 percent) of women smoked in the United States.

Although fewer women smoke than men, the percentage difference between the two has continued to decrease year to year. Today, with a much closer gap between men’s and women’s smoking rates, women share a much larger burden of smoking-related diseases.

• Smoking is directly responsible for 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths in America each year. In 1987, lung cancer surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S.
• Current female smokers aged 35 or older are 12 times more likely than nonsmoking females to die prematurely from lung cancer.
• In 2007, an estimated 70,880 women will die of lung and bronchus cancer.
• Smoking is directly responsible for 80 percent of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) deaths in women each year.
• In 2003, 51.2 percent of all COPD deaths were in women. This is the third year in a row that women have outnumbered men in deaths attributable to COPD.
• Current female smokers aged 35 or older are 10.5 times more likely than nonsmoking females to die from emphysema or chronic bronchitis otherwise known as COPD.
• Annually, cigarette smoking kills an estimated 178,408 women in the United States.
• Prevalence of current smoking in 2005 among adult female populations was highest among, non-Hispanic whites (21%), flowed by non-Hispanic blacks (17%) and Hispanics (11%).
• Women who smoke also have an increased risk for developing cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and uterine cervix.
• Women who smoke double their risk for developing coronary heart disease.
• Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked. Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than never smokers. Cigarette smoking also causes skin wrinkling that could make smokers appear less attractive and prematurely old.
• Women have been extensively targeted in tobacco marketing dominated by themes of an association between social desirability, independence, weight control and smoking messages conveyed through advertisements featuring slim, attractive, and athletic models.
• Teenage girls often start to smoke to avoid weight gain and to identify themselves as independent and glamorous, which reflect images projected by tobacco ads. Social images can convince teens that being slightly overweight is worse than smoking. Cigarette advertising portrays cigarettes as causing slimness and implies that cigarette smoking suppresses appetite.
• In 2005, 23.0 percent of high school girls were current smokers, meaning they smoked at least once in the 30 days preceding the survey.
• In 2003, 10.7 percent of mothers smoked during pregnancy. It is estimated that only 25 percent of women quit smoking once they become pregnant.
• Cigarette smoking during pregnancy can cause serious health problems for both mother and child, such as pregnancy complications, premature birth, low-birth-weight infants, stillbirth and infant death.
• Mothers who smoke can pass nicotine to their children through breast milk. Cigarette smoking not only passes nicotine on to the fetus; it also prevents as much as 25 percent of oxygen from reaching the placenta. Smoking during pregnancy accounts for 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries and about 10 percent of all infant deaths.
• Additionally, infants are more likely to develop colds, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases if secondhand smoke is present in the home or day care center. Maternal smoking has also been linked to asthma among infants and young children. The odds of developing asthma are twice as high among children whose mothers smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day.
• Reducing frequency of smoking may not benefit the baby. A pregnant woman who reduces her smoking pattern or switches to lower tar cigarettes may inhale more deeply or take more puffs to get the same amount of nicotine as before.
• The most effective way to protect the fetus is to quit smoking. If a woman plans to conceive a child in the near future, quitting is essential. A woman who quits within the first three or four months of pregnancy can lower the chances of her baby being born premature or with health problems related to smoking.
• Women who quit smoking greatly reduce their risk of developing smoking-related diseases and dying prematurely. In 2003, 48.9 percent of women smokers tried to quit smoking for at least one day.
  Women who quit smoking relapse for different reasons than men. Stress, weight control, and negative emotions, lead to relapse among women.
• A recent study found among middle-aged smokers and former smokers, with mild or moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, both breathed easier after quitting. After one year the women who quit smoking had 2 times more improvement in lung function compared with the men who quit.

Quit Smoking

Why Quit?

One of the best things a smoker can do to Live Life Well is quit smoking. The health benefits of quitting occur for all smokers, regardless of age, sex or length of time that they have been smoking.

People who have already developed smoking-related health problems, like heart disease will also benefit from quitting.

• Within hours of quitting smoking the nicotine and carbon monoxide in your blood decreases, while the oxygen level in your blood increases.
• Within days your sense of smell and taste begin to improve, breathing and exercising become easier, even your chances of having a heart attack have been reduced.
• Within one month your circulation will improve and your blood pressure and pulse rate will decrease.
• Within three months, cilia (the small hairs inside your lungs) have begun to re grow. This improves your lungs’ ability to clean themselves. Lung function may be increased by up to 30 per cent.
• Within one year, your risk of a heart attack is reduced by half.
• Within 10 years your risk of dying from lung cancer is reduced by half.
• Within 15 years your risk of dying from a heart attack is equal to a person who has never smoked.

By choosing quit smoking, you will significantly reduce your chance of cancer, heart disease, stroke, emphysema and other lung disease.

You will also be less likely to have cataracts on your eyes, brittle bones, wrinkles, yellow teeth and bad breath.

Being a non smoker will reduce your chance of impotence, difficulty falling pregnant, and premature births, small babies and miscarriage.

If you are a parent, quitting smoking means you will lower your children’s risk of SIDS, ear infections, allergies, asthma, bronchitis and other lung problems, and reduce the chance they will take up smoking later in life.

Remember, it’s never too late to start Healthy life and be a non smoker. The sooner you quit, the better.

Thinking About Quitting

Why is Quitting So Hard?

Many ex-smokers say quitting was the hardest thing they ever did. Do you feel hooked? You’re probably addicted to nicotine. Nicotine is in all tobacco products. It makes you feel calm and satisfied. At the same time, you feel more alert and focused. The more you smoke, the more nicotine you need to feel good. Soon, you don’t feel “normal” without nicotine. It takes time to break free from nicotine addiction. It may take more than one try to quit for good. So don’t give up too soon. You will feel good again.

Quitting is also hard because smoking is a big part of your life. You enjoy holding cigarettes and puffing on them. You may smoke when you are stressed, bored, or angry. After months and years of lighting up, smoking becomes part of your daily routine. You may light up without even thinking about it.

Smoking goes with other things, too. You may light up when you feel a certain way or do certain things. For example:

• Drinking coffee, wine, or beer
• Talking on the phone
• Driving
• Being with other smokers

You may even feel uncomfortable not smoking at times or in places where you usually have a cigarette. These times and places are called “triggers.” That’s because they trigger, or turn on, cigarette cravings. Breaking these habits is the hardest part of quitting for some smokers.

Quitting isn’t easy. Just reading this guide won’t do it. It may take several tries. But you learn something each time you try. It takes will power and strength to beat your addiction to nicotine. Remember that millions of people have quit smoking for good. You can be one of them!

What is the Best Way To Quit?

It helps to be prepared and plan for quitting. Here are some key things to consider in developing your own quit plan:

Set a quit date

Set a date to quit and stop completely on that day. Choose a day when you have no events that may make it difficult to avoid smoking, such as a party. It’s also a good idea not to try to quit just before a stressful event, such as a job interview or exam.

Use nicotine replacement therapies (NRT)

Using NRT is a smart move. NRT comes in many different and easy to use forms including patches, gum, lozenges, sublingual tablet or an inhaler. Research shows that using NRT doubles your chances of successfully quitting, if used correctly.

Know your triggers

What are the behaviours that trigger your craving for a cigarette? These might be things like consuming alcohol, coffee or food, or feelings such as anxiety or boredom. Knowing some of your triggers helps you to plan ahead and manage these situations.

Plan your strategies

If you have tried to quit before, think about the strategies that worked well for you. What were the high-risk situations where you smoked and how can you plan to avoid them? It’s OK to excuse yourself to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. A firm but friendly “No thanks, I am quitting smoking” is also OK.

A support network

Tell your friends, family and work mates that you are going to quit. Their encouragement will be helpful, especially during the first two weeks of quitting.

Smoke free zones

Over 80 per cent of NSW homes are smoke free zones. A ban on smoking in your home and car increases your chances of quitting successfully.

The nicotine and caffeine link

As your body is removing nicotine you absorb more caffeine. This means it is helpful to reduce your intake of tea, coffee and cola drinks by half. Read the labels on chocolate bars and energy drinks as some of these items also contain caffeine. An increase in caffeine levels may add to your feelings of restlessness or insomnia.

Five Keys for Quitting

Studies have shown that these five steps will help you quit and quit for good. You have the best chances of quitting if you use them together:

1. Get ready.
2. Get support.
3. Learn new skills and behaviors.
4. Get medication and use it correctly.
5. Be prepared for relapse or difficult situations.

1. Get Ready

• 1. Get rid of ALL cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and place of work.
  2. Don’t let people smoke in your home.

• Set a quit date.
• Change your environment.
• Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked and what did not.
• Once you quit, don’t smoke—NOT EVEN A PUFF!

. Learn New Skills and Behaviors

• Try to distract yourself from urges to smoke. Talk to someone, go for a walk, or get busy with a task.
• When you first try to quit, change your routine. Use a different route to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place.
• Do something to reduce your stress. Take a hot bath, exercise, or read a book.
• Plan something enjoyable to do every day.
• Drink a lot of water and other fluids.

4. Get Medication and Use It Correctly

Medications can help you stop smoking and lessen the urge to smoke.

• 1. Bupropion SR—Available by prescription.
  2. Nicotine gum—Available over-the-counter.
  3. Nicotine inhaler—Available by prescription.
  4. Nicotine nasal spray—Available by prescription.
  5. Nicotine patch—Available by prescription and over-the-counter.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five medications to help you quit smoking:
• Ask your health care provider for advice and carefully read the information on the package.
• All of these medications will more or less double your chances of quitting and quitting for good.
• Everyone who is trying to quit may benefit from using a medication. If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, nursing, under age 18, smoking fewer than 10 cigarettes per day, or have a medical condition, talk to your doctor or other health care provider before taking medications.