‘Cigarette smoking is injurious to health’ a cautionary note we come across everywhere all the time.
In spite of this, the younger generation continues to become addicted to it and suffer it’s deadly consequences.
Whereas cigarette smoking used to be rare among women, today the rate of smoking among women seems to be on the rise.
The sad fact about cigarette smoking in women is that 23 percent of the female population still smoke, increasing their risk of health hazards.
According to a recent survey, many women continue to smoke cigarette without considering its negative effects.
About 21 percent of women who smoke are between the ages of 18 and 44. As these young women age and continue smoking, they develop more smoking-related complications and disabilities like the following:
Smoking and Infertility
Infertility is a major problem of women (Infertility problems). Delaying childbirth is the primary cause of infertility for both smoking and non-smoking women. However, delaying of childbirth among smoking women puts them at a significantly greater risk of infertility in future than non-smoking women.
Studies show that the fertilization problem is increasing more and more among smoking women due to the decrease in ovulatory response, along with fertilization and implantation of a zygote. The chemicals in tobacco affect cervical fluid, making the fluid toxic to sperm and resulting in difficulty in falling pregnant.
Smoking and Pregnancy
Smoking during pregnancy not only affects the mother, but also the child. Chemicals in tobacco pass through pregnant mothers to the fetus via the bloodstream where it causes serious risks to the unborn baby.
Cigarette smoking during pregnancy also results in low birth weight, pre-term delivery, miscarriage, placenta previa, premature rupture of membranes, and neonatal death.
Smoking and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is a painful disease of uterus, fallopian tubes and other reproductive organs. The disease requires urgent medical support and is a major factor in ectopic pregnancy, pelvic adhesions and other fertility-related problems. The occurrence of pelvic inflammatory disease is about 33 percent more in women who smoke than in non-smoking women.
Smoking and Menstruation
Smoking increases the risk of early menopause. Smoking women often experience menopause symptoms 2-3 years earlier than women who do not smoke.
Abnormal bleeding, vaginal discharges, vaginal infection, and amenorrhea are complications of menstruation that develop among women who smoke. The toxic effect of tobacco on the ovaries significantly lowers levels of estrogen and is the main cause of abnormalities in menstrual periods and premature menopause in women smokers.
Smoking and Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis (osteoporosis prevention) is very common for older women. Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones that leads to reduction in bone density, increased bone fragility, weakness and fractures. Women who smoke often develop osteoporosis and loss of bone density 5 to 10 percent earlier than non-smoking women who reach menopause.
Heart disease, hormone problems, breast cancer, cervical cancer and vulvar cancer are some of the other complications that develop in smoking women.
