Smoking and Your Health

 

The following illustration gives you a basic idea of the possible effects of cigarette on a female smoker's body. 

Click on the picture of each organ to get more information.

 

Brain - alters mood-regulating chemicals; stimulates craving for more nicotine

Mouth and Throat - dulls taste buds; irritates the membranes

Lungs - causes lung damage which affects the lungs' ability to bring in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide

 

 

Heart - increases heart rate and blood pressure; less oxygen reaches the heart

 

 

Kidneys - inhibits formation of urine

Adrenal glands - stimulates adrenaline production

Reproductive tracts - risks of developing baby; decreased fertility; earlier menopause

Body of a female smoker.

 

 

Other health effects of smoking on women are as follows:

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

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Nicotine addiction

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Increases cough and phlegm production

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Decreases physical fitness

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Dental problems

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Nervousness and depression

LONG-TERM EFFECTS:

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Cancers - lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, bladder, cervix

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Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases-heart attack, stroke, emphysema, bronchitis, pneumonia

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Infertility, complications during pregnancy, earlier onset of menopause

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among infants whose mothers smoke

 

 

[ Disclaimer ] [ Smoking and Your Health ] [ Why Do Women Smoke? ] [ Kicking the BUTT Habit ] [ When Smokers Quit ] [ Stay Active When You Quit Smoking ] [ Eat Healthy When You Quit Smoking ] [ Manage Your Stress ] [ Quitting Tips ] [ Get Help ]

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FACTS

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Smoking is the #1 preventable cause of death in women in the United States. 

(2001 Surgeon  Women and Smoking)

 
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Women are one and a half times more likely to get lung cancer from smoking than men.  Among women, lung cancer now causes more deaths than breast cancer

(Lungcancer.org)

 

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Women who smoke and take a daily, low-dose birth control pill increase the risk of having a first-time heart attack by 30 times. 

(Archives of Internal Medicine)

 

Surgeon General says cigarette use is largely to blame for rise in female lung cancers.

Click on the picture to watch the NBC Nightly News video.