 This specialty section will help you and the people you love to breathe clean! Along with information on the health effects of smoking, we provide you with resources to help you quit if you are a smoker. We encourage you to learn as much as you can about smoking and to share this information with the ones you love. Remember, it's best to never start smoking and if you do smoke, don't give up on quitting. We know how hard quitting can be, but you'll be glad you did! Being smoke-free will help you to live longer with better health.
We all need to be concerned about smoking. Today, about 1 out of every 5 women in America smokes, even though we know smoking is not good for our health. And, women are starting to smoke at younger and younger ages. Did you know that lung cancer kills more women every year than breast cancer? Did you also know that smoking could affect more than just your lungs? Smoking can increase your risk for heart disease, heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis (thinning or weakening of your bones), and cancers other than lung cancer. It can also affect your ability to get pregnant. Smoking when you are pregnant increases your chances of having problems with your pregnancy, including premature or early birth and having a baby with low birth weight.
One recent resource, The 2001 Surgeon General's Report on Women and Smoking, gives a thorough summary of everything that is known about women and smoking in the United States. The report also talks about what happens to your health when you smoke, ways to stop smoking, and research on women and smoking. Find out more by clicking on the Surgeon General's Report tab at the top of this page.
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Daily Reason to Breathe Clean:
Quitting smoking reduces wrinkles and yellow spots on your fingers, and gives you a better sense of taste and smell.
View all of the daily reasons to quit
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Fast Facts
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Unlike so many other conditions or diseases, you have the power to prevent yourself from smoking-related illnesses or death. The benefits of not smoking start within days of quitting. In 1999, about 165,000 women died prematurely from smoking-related diseases, like cancer and heart disease. Twenty-two million of the smokers in this country are women. At least 1.5 million adolescent girls in the U.S. smoke
cigarettes. Every day, about 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become smokers.
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