Woman and smoking

Women smokers are likely to increase nowadays as a percentage of the total smoking population. This is the main reason that they have attracted special attention from both the tobacco industry and health professionals. The present article constitutes an attempt to examine specific aspects of major importance concerning women and smoking. First, the most recent smoking trends in European Union and Greece especially are presented, as well as the reasons that lead women to smoke nowadays. Although the proportion of adults who smoke is in steady decline for more than 20 years in both sexes, research suggests that prevalence in women smoking is starting to rise. Recent findings show that more teenage girls than boys smoke. International research findings suggest that women smoke more for psychological reasons as a mean to cope with stress, to socialize and keep their weight down. Continuing, all the major health effects for women will be examined. Women suffer all the same disease processes caused by smoking as men do: heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and a wide variety of other ill effects. Additionally, women are at risk of developing a number of sex-specific problems due to smoking. The next section of this report analyses the important role of the advertisement as well with the general informations that are given to the women smokers and the smoking cessation programmes worldwide. Finally, the present article summarizes a series of meters which should be taken so that women’s smoking will be faced successfully.

Category: Volume 45, N 4
Hits: 459 Hits
Created Date: 15-12-2006
Authors: Paraskevi Beletsioti-Stika