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New
Surgeon
General’s
Report
Highlights
the
Health
Impact
of
Smoking
Among
U.S.
Women
and
Girls
Women
now
account
for
39
percent
of
all
smoking-related
deaths
each
year
in
the
United
States,
a
proportion
that
has
more
than
doubled
since
1965,
according
to
a
report
on
women
and
smoking
released
today
by
Surgeon
General
David
Satcher.
The
report
concludes
that
the
increased
likelihood
of
lung
cancer,
cardiovascular
disease,
and
reproductive
health
problems
among
female
smokers
makes
tobacco
use
a
serious
women’s
health
issue.
Meanwhile,
increased
marketing
by
tobacco
companies
has
stalled
progress
in
smoking
cessation
by
women,
and
recent
increases
in
smoking
among
teenage
girls
threaten
to
wipe
out
any
progress
that
has
been
made
in
the
last
few
decades,
he
noted.
"In
the
early
decades
smoking
prevalence
was
more
prominent
among
men,
and
it
took
nearly
25
years
before
the
gap
narrowed
and
smoking
became
commonplace
among
women,"
Dr.
Satcher
said.
"Women
not
only
share
the
same
health
risk
as
men,
but
are
also
faced
with
health
consequences
that
are
unique
to
women,
including
pregnancy
complications,
problems
with
menstrual
function,
and
cervical
cancer."
Women
and
Smoking:
A
Report
of
the
Surgeon
General
summarizes
patterns
of
tobacco
use
among
women,
factors
associated
with
starting
and
continuing
to
smoke,
the
health
consequences
of
smoking,
tobacco
marketing
targeted
at
women,
and
cessation
and
prevention
interventions.
"Smoking
is
a
critical
women's
health
issue
that
must
be
addressed
on
all
fronts,"
HHS
Secretary
Tommy
G.
Thompson
said.
"We
must
begin
this
battle
in
schools
before
girls
even
begin
to
smoke,
and
we
must
share
with
teenage
girls
that
smoking
is
not
only
harmful,
but
it
is
not
glamorous.
Society
must
not
glorify
smoking."
"In
addition,
we
must
provide
information
to
women
and
minority
groups
detailing
the
harmful
affects
of
smoking
as
well
as
the
benefits
of
smoking
cessation.
The
facts
are
clear:
smoking
significantly
reduces
life
expectancy
and
hampers
quality
of
life,"
said
Secretary
Thompson.
Since
1980,
nearly
three
million
U.S.
women
have
died
prematurely
from
smoking.
The
new
report
calls
for
stronger
national
and
local
efforts,
particularly
from
women’s
groups,
to
push
for
the
implementation
of
proven
solutions
to
reduce
and
prevent
tobacco
use
among
women
and
girls.
The
report
calls
for
increasing
public
awareness
of
the
devastating
impact
of
smoking
on
women’s
health;
exposing
and
countering
the
tobacco
industry’s
targeting
of
women;
encouraging
public
health
policymakers,
educators,
medical
professionals,
and
women’s
organizations
to
work
for
policies
and
programs
that
deglamorize
and
discourage
tobacco
use;
reducing
disparities
related
to
tobacco
use
and
its
health
effects
among
different
ethnic/racial
populations;
decreasing
nonsmokers’
exposure
to
environmental
tobacco
smoke;
and
mounting
comprehensive
statewide
tobacco
control
programs
proven
to
be
effective
in
reducing
and
preventing
tobacco
use.
Developed
by
HHS’
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention
(CDC)
to
document
the
impact
of
smoking
on
women’s
health
in
the
United
States,
the
report
also
provides
analyses
of
the
global
impact
of
smoking
on
women.
"We
estimate
that
smoking
prevalence
among
women
varies
markedly
worldwide
from
as
low
as
7
percent
in
developing
countries
to
24
percent
in
developed
countries,"
CDC
Director
Dr.
Jeffrey
P.
Koplan
said.
"The
rise
in
smoking
among
women
around
the
world
has
coincided
with
aggressive
Western-style
tobacco
advertising.
One
of
the
most
common
themes
used
in
developing
countries
is
that
smoking
is
both
a
passport
to
and
a
symbol
of
a
woman’s
emancipation,
independence,
and
success."
Dr.
Koplan
added,
"We
have
firm
evidence
of
a
direct
association
between
tobacco
marketing
and
smoking
prevalence.
Earlier
this
month,
the
Federal
Trade
Commission
reported
that
cigarette
companies
spent
$8.24
billion
on
advertising
and
promotions
in
1999
in
the
United
States,
a
22.3
percent
increase
from
the
$6.73
billion
spent
in
1998.
Fortunately,
we
have
proven
science-based
evidence
that
counter-marketing
strategies
can
be
a
powerful
tool
to
change
social
norms.
The
CDC
is
committed
to
working
globally
to
create
a
broad
framework
to
curb
the
global
epidemic
of
tobacco-related
disease,
particularly
as
it
relates
to
women
and
young
people."
The
report
outlines
key
solutions
for
preventing
and
reducing
smoking
among
women,
including:
- Encouraging
quitting
for
women
of
all
ages.
Quitting
results
in
immediate
health
benefits
for
both
light
and
heavy
smokers,
including
improvements
in
breathing
and
circulation.
The
excess
risk
of
coronary
heart
disease
is
substantially
reduced
after
one
or
two
years
of
smoking
cessation.
The
increased
risk
for
stroke
associated
with
smoking
is
reversible
after
quitting
smoking.
When
smokers
quit,
their
lungs
begin
to
heal
and
their
risk
of
lung
disease
drops.
Smoking
cessation
also
improves
quality
of
life
and
physical
functioning.
- Implementing
science-based
smoking
cessation
interventions
into
widespread
clinical
practice.
This
action
would
be
as
cost-effective
as
other
medical
interventions
such
as
mammography
and
treatment
of
high
blood
pressure.
- Enacting
comprehensive
statewide
tobacco
control
programs.
Results
from
states
such
as
Arizona,
California,
Florida,
Maine,
Massachusetts,
and
Oregon
show
that
science-based
tobaccocontrol
programs
have
successfully
reduced
smoking
rates
among
women
and
girls.
California
is
now
starting
to
observe
the
dramatic
public
health
benefits
of
its
sustained
efforts.
Between
1988
and
1997,
the
incidence
rate
of
lung
cancer
among
women
declined
by
4.8
percent
in
California
but
increased
by
13.2
percent
in
other
regions
of
the
United
States.
- Encouraging
a
more
vocal
constituency
on
issues
related
to
women
and
smoking.
Concerted
efforts
are
needed
from
women’s
and
girls’
organizations,
women’s
magazines,
public
health
policymakers,
medical
groups,
and
volunteer
organizations
to
call
public
attention
to
lung
cancer
and
other
smoking-related
diseases
among
women,
and
to
call
for
policies
and
programs
that
deglamorize
and
discourage
tobacco
use.
This
effort
should
draw
from
the
success
of
advocacy
campaigns
to
reduce
breast
cancer.
"Despite
the
overwhelming
evidence
of
effective
tobacco
use
intervention
strategies,
we
clearly
have
a
long
way
to
go
to
meet
our
public
health
objectives
of
cutting
smoking
in
half
among
women
and
girls,"
Dr.
Satcher
said.
"We
know
more
than
enough
to
prevent
and
reduce
tobacco
use.
Now
we
must
commit
the
attention
and
resources
to
translate
this
knowledge
into
action
to
save
women’s
lives."
A
full
copy
of
Women
and
Smoking:
A
Report
of
the
Surgeon
General
and
other
related
information
is
available
on
the
CDC’s
Web
site:
Copies
of
the
Executive
Summary
and
the
report’s
"At
A
Glance"
can
also
be
ordered
via
fax
by
calling
1-800-CDC-1311
or
by
writing
the
CDC’s
Office
on
Smoking
and
Health,
Mail
Stop
K-50,
4770
Buford
Highway,
Atlanta,
Ga.
30341.
A
special
consumer-focused
section
on
quitting
smoking
is
now
available
on
the
National
Women’s
Health
Information
Center
Web
site,
http://www.4woman.gov,
sponsored
by
the
HHS
Office
on
Women’s
Health.
The
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention
(CDC)
protects
people's
health
and
safety
by
preventing
and
controlling
diseases
and
injuries;
enhances
health
decisions
by
providing
credible
information
on
critical
health
issues;
and
promotes
healthy
living
through
strong
partnerships
with
local,
national,
and
international
organizations.
###
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to
Editors:
A
video
news
release
(VNR)
feeds
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p.m.
(EST)
on
Tuesday,
March
27,
using
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Transponder
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Dual
Audio
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and
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March
28,
using
C-Band,
Telstar
5,
Transponder
16,
Dual
Audio
6.2
and
6.8
MHz.
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health,
Mail Stop K-50,
4770 Buford Highway,
Atlanta, Georgia
30341-3717.
SGR
2001 Report
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