Everyone is affected by smoking, regardless of the gender. Smoking is not only the pastime of males. Even if in the onset of the twentieth century it was rare for women to smoke, the number increased greatly over the past decades. In a survey in 2002, it is estimated that 20 percent of the woman population smokes, and each year, it is estimated that 142,000 women dies due to diseases that are related to smoking.

The Consequences of Smoking

Women smokers suffer all the consequences of smoking that men do and sometimes even a lot more. This would include certain types of cancer like:

* Lung cancer

* Mouth cancer

* Larynx cancer

* Kidney cancer

* Bladder cancer

There are also respiratory diseases that women have to suffer from as a consequence of smoking. It could also have an effect on the fertility, menstrual cycle of women, and during the pregnancy of women. Smoking could have a great effect on the bones, and it could cause osteoporosis. Aside from that, appearance can change when you smoke. The skin and lips would look dull.

Pregnancy and Smoking

Pregnant women who smoke could have complications on their pregnancy that could result to their and their baby's poor health. The chemicals that are present in tobacco are passed on from the mother to the baby, and there are toxins that are present that can cause harm to both of them. It is said that smoking during pregnancy can be associated with the following effects:

* Preterm pregnancy

* Low birth weight

* Placenta previa

* Premature rupture of membranes

* Miscarriage

* Neonatal death

Women who smoke during pregnancy produce a baby who has the same level of nicotine as they do have in their blood. These babies are more likely to experience health problems like colds, respiratory problems, and other related illnesses than normal babies. This would result to a lot of visits to the pediatrician.

Smoking and Infertility

Women who smoke have greater risks of being infertile than those who don't. There are also studies that show that there is a constant decrease in the ovulatory response of women smokers. They would have a hard time inducing fertilization and in the implantation of the zygote because these functions would be impaired. Chemicals that are present in tobacco as well as toxins have an effect on the cervical fluids; therefore, the environment to which the sperm travels would be toxic, making it hard for them to reach the egg.

Smoking and the Teen Bracket

Among the smoking population, it is the teenage girls who are largely affected. The teen years is an era of experimentation, and this would involve a lot of smoking. Whether girls do this because of experimentation or because of peer pressure, the effect is that they would be affected in the end. The cigarette industry mostly target women and girls because they know that they are more susceptible to being addicted with nicotine. Girls who start smoking early would or could become lifelong smokers, and this could have negative effects on their health. Some of these effects are early menopause, abnormal bleeding during their period, and infections.