How harmful is smoking to women?

Smoking and pregnancy - the most dangerous combination:The most important thing for women preparing to become pregnant to note is that the toxic chemicals in cigarettes are harmful to the fetus and the mother, because these substances are passed from mother to child through the bloodstream, affecting the child's health later on, and can even cause birth defects.

Smoking during pregnancy can cause premature birth, low birth weight, premature rupture of membranes, placenta previa, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy have the same high levels of nicotine in their blood as adults who smoke. In addition, smoking (including passive smoking) can cause infertility in women. More and more studies show a significant decrease in ovulation and fertilization response in smokers. Many toxic chemicals have been found to cause genetic mutations that lead to stillbirth, birth defects, cancer, and many other concerns for the health of children in the future.

Smoking and hormone therapy - a death foretold:At the onset of menopause, many women use estrogen replacement therapy to provide and supplement the skin and bone system. However, this is even more dangerous for women who smoke, who may face serious problems with cardiovascular disease, stroke, and risk of death when using estrogen therapy. Each year, about 34,000 women die from heart disease and ischemic heart disease caused by long-term smoking. Although the majority of deaths occur in postmenopausal women, the risk of cardiovascular disease related to smoking is higher in younger people.

Smoking - increases the destruction of the skeletal system:A recent study by scientists at Creighton University (USA) has shown the damage that cigarettes cause to the skeletal system. Accordingly, cigarette smoke stimulates the body to produce two types of proteins that provide cells that destroy bones more than normal, it can both destroy old bones and limit the formation of new bone cells. Therefore, people who have been addicted to cigarettes for more than 10 years will have a higher risk of osteoporosis than normal people or bone cell regeneration and treatment when encountering bone and joint problems will also be more difficult.

Increased risk and complications of psoriasis:Regular smoking not only increases the risk of developing psoriasis, but experts also believe that smoking can be just a sign of the onset and make the disease worse. In particular, it is more dangerous for female smokers because they have poor resistance, so the disease will become more severe, the disease may not only manifest on the skin but also affect many other organs, even internal organs. It should be noted that the number of years of smoking is related to the severity of psoriasis.

Therefore, controlling smoking among women is a very important part of any tobacco control strategy worldwide.