Most women know that smoking can cause lung
cancer, heart disease and premature death. But
what you may not know is that women, regardless
of their age, can be harmed by smoking in so
many other ways.
Smoking can wreak havoc on a woman's
appearance, causing a sallow complexion and
premature ageing, as well as contributing to
infertility, early menopause,1 and osteoporosis.2
Women who smoke during pregnancy endanger
not only themselves, but their babies too.3
Mothers who smoke around their children also
put their kids' health at risk.3
The good news is that it is never too late to become
smokefree and join the thousands of women who
have quit smoking to improve their health. Huge
numbers of women quit each day – you can do it
too. The sooner you do it, the greater the benefit.
This guide will help you better understand why
smoking is particularly bad for women and show
you the health, lifestyle and cosmetic benefits to
quitting smoking whatever your age.
TEENAGERs
Smoking might seem exciting and cool but the
reality is that it harms your body and your health
from the first puff you take.
Skin
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals4
and can both dehydrate and deprive your skin of
oxygen.5 Some research shows that the damaging
effects of cigarette smoke on the skin may start
earlier than previously thought.6 Over the years, if
you continue smoking your face is more likely to
develop wrinkles, crow's feet, all-round bad texture
and can appear a washed-out yellow-grey colour.5
One of the best things you can do to help maintain
a beautiful complexion is to stop smoking. Quit and
you could see real benefits - skin can become
smoother and brighter.7
Hair
Did you know that smoking can potentially lead to
baldness and premature grey hair. Certain chemicals
in smoke break down in hair cells, which leads
to hair damage.8 Conversely, quitting can help to
restore the flow of nutrients to the hair, improving
nourishment and giving you back a healthy shine.
Breathe
Smoking stains your teeth and makes them yellow.9
It leaves an unpleasant smell that lingers in the
mouth and breath – smoking is one of the major
causes of bad breath.
QUITTING WILL STOP YOU STINKING.
Health
Smoking reduces fitness and sporting
performance.10 If you smoke it is likely that you
aren't going to be able to run as fast or as far as
your smoke-free team mates. A smoker's heart
has to work much harder than that of a nonsmoker
so, in competition, your body wastes a
lot more energy just trying to keep up with the
non-smokers.10
Quitting smoking should enable you to work out
much better than you could before and help you
obtain optimum fitness.
PERIODS AND SEXUAL HEALTH
Quitting smoking could ease the agony of painful
periods. Girls and women who smoke may be
more likely to have painful and irregular periods.3
Smoking can be risky for girls using the combined
oral contraceptive pill as it may increase the
chance of the pill failing.3 It can also cause breakthrough
bleeding.11
For help ring Quitline 0800 00 22 00
or visit www.quitbecause.org.uk
Ask yourself...is smoking really worth it?
20+
SKIN
Smoking can age you by 10 years or more!5
Your complexion is more likely to have a yellowgrey
pallor and lines on the cheeks and lower
jaw. The more a person smokes the greater the
risk of premature wrinkling.5
If you quit now your skin should become
healthier making you feel and look better.
PERIODS AND SEXUAL HEALTH
Although the following list might seem grim,
don't despair - you can see significant benefits
by stopping smoking.
- Risk of cervical cancer increases two-fold if
you are a smoker.12
- More than five-times greater risk of developing
genital warts.13
- Greater chance of menstrual irregularities.14
- Higher combined contraceptive pill failure rate3
and breakthrough bleeding.11
- Reduced chance of 10-40% per cycle,
if you want to have a baby (more details in
pregnancy section).12,15
The good news is that it's not too late to stop
smoking. You will quickly notice all the benefits.
To find the best way for you to quit ring
Quitline 0800 00 22 00.
FITNESS
It is not only the skin that ages prematurely; it is
a well-known fact that smoking reduces physical
fitness.10 Smoking is bad for physical fitness even
if you think you are fit. It lowers physical endurance
and causes increased fatigue both during and
after exercise.10
Quit and you will have much more energy!
30+
SKIN
Smokers in their thirties may already be showing
signs of wrinkles, lines and crow's feet. Your
complexion may already appear dull and sallow.
This is because continuous exposure to cigarette
heat causes premature skin ageing.6
Quitting smoking will help to improve your skin's
appearance. After one month of being smokefree
your face will start to lose its greyish pallor and
become less wrinkled.7
Prolonged smoking causes discolouration of
the fingers and fingernails on the hand used to
hold cigarettes.5
HEALTH
Many women start thinking about a family in
their thirties. A good step you can take to
achieve this is to stop smoking (more details
in pregnancy section).
FITNESS
Many women fear they will put on weight if they
quit smoking. But by eating healthily and
increasing activity, weight gain should not be a
serious problem.
The extra energy you get from quitting
smoking will help make you fitter so you can
spend more time doing the things you enjoy.
40+
SKIN
Smokers in their 40s may have facial wrinkling
and could develop hollow cheeks through
repeated sucking on cigarettes. Your skin can
be dry, leathery and etched with tiny lines,
especially around the lips and eyes.5
The good news is that quitting smoking helps to
prevent them getting worse. And it will improve
the texture of your facial skin and make it look
brighter and less wrinkled.7
TEETH
Your teeth may not be as white as they could be.
Cigarette smoke interferes with the mouth's
chemistry, creating a build-up of plaque on the
teeth and yellow discolouration. Smokers are one
and a half times more likely to lose their teeth.9
Once you quit a dentist can remove the stains
on your teeth and your gums should improve.16
HEALTH
Smokers are more likely to store fat around the
waist and upper body, rather than around the
hips. This means smokers are more likely to
have a higher waist-to-hip ratio which is
associated with a much higher risk of developing
diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure,
gall bladder problems and cancer of the womb
and breast.5
Smoking drains a lot of your body's
energy reserves.
Quitting means the cells in your body will receive
more oxygen, which in turn should help you feel
more energised and less sluggish. You will feel
healthier and not have to worry about the
damage you are doing to your body by smoking.
If you quit now you still have time to repair the
damage to your health that you have already
done and to reduce your risk of a heart attack
to that of someone who has never smoked.7
50+
By stopping smoking now you could help
to avoid many of the health risks you face by
continuing to smoke.
If you smoke you are not going to be as active as
non-smoking friends of the same age.
If you quit, within a few hours your circulation
will improve and can help to give you more
energy, and feel less breathless. After 3-9
months you may notice a reduction in coughing
and wheezing.7
MENOPAUSE
The good news is you will lessen the length
and severity of menopausal symptoms if you
stop smoking.
1
IF YOU QUIT YOU REDUCE YOUR CHANCES OF:-
- Early menopause (smokers can start up to
2 years earlier than non-smokers).1
- Osteoporosis which causes thin and weak
bones which break easily.17
- Incontinence which increases two fold if you
are a smoker.18
HUGE BENEFITS
Your body will repair itself over time. After 48
hours the decline in lung function and excess
risk of lung cancer halts. A year on and your risk
of a heart attack drops to half that of a smoker,
while after 15 years your risk of a heart attack is
no more than that of a lifelong non-smoker.7
If you would like to chat in confidence to
someone about the best way for you to quit,
ring Quitline 0800 00 22 00 for friendly help
and advice.
60+
If you quit smoking now you can still make a
significant improvement to your health, day-today
fitness and appearance.
You are less likely to die from lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the second most common form
of cancer in the UK after breast cancer and the
number of women with lung cancer has been
increasing. Smoking and passive smoking cause
nine out of ten lung cancers.
The sooner you stop smoking, the less likely you are to get lung
cancer.
Stopping smoking can halt or reverse damage
to the eyes, depending on the severity and type
of disease.19
You are less likely to become deaf if you quit.
Smokers can lose their hearing earlier than nonsmokers
and are more susceptible to hearing loss
caused by ear infections or loud noise.9
You are less likely to have a heart attack.
Women who smoke will increase their risk of
heart attack no matter what their age.21 Stopping
smoking is urgent but it's never too late to stop.
After the age of 35-40 every year of continued
smoking loses 3 months of life expectancy.7
So stopping today makes a difference.
You are less likely to break your hip.
There is conclusive evidence that smoking
causes low bone density in postmenopausal
women (more details in fifties section).2
You are less likely to develop breast cancer.
Postmenopausal women who smoke one or
more packs of cigarettes a day are five times
more likely to develop breast cancer than others
who do not smoke.11
You'll live longer.
Adults who die of a smoking-related disease lose
an average of 13-14.5 years of life.22 Women who
stop smoking can get many of those years back–
improving the chances that you will live to enjoy
your grandchildren and even great grandchildren.
Smoking in your 30s and 40s
Smoking and pregnancy
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