If you are a smoker, add stopping smoking to your list of New Year’s resolutions!
We are all aware that smoking is bad for fertility, fetal development and can cause premature births. Are you also aware that smoking is a negative factor in women’s reproductive health in every stage of life? Smoking can be to be a contributing factor I n cervical, breast and ovarian cancers. We immediately think of lung cancer as the main reason to stop smoking (or never start), but other cancer risks include colon, esophageal, cancers of the mouth, bladder, kidneys and pancreas along with the gynecological cancers.
Women who smoke, or have extensive second-hand smoke exposure, are not guaranteed to be diagnosed with a gynecological cancer, but their risk of that happening are much higher. Women who have an inherited genetic mutation for gynecological cancer, and are smokers, have a greatly elevated risk of developing these cancers.
Oral contraceptives, other hormone forms of birth control or hormone replacement therapy use along with smoking increases the risk of blood clots, heart disease and strokes. You should always be straightforward with your physician regarding your use of tobacco products so that she may consider that in determining how to appropriately prescribe hormone based treatments.
Smoking is also a contributing factor in osteoporosis, which affects many women as they age. Additionally, the risk of stroke is almost doubled in women who smoke.
Smoking is the most modifiable factor negatively affecting women’s health. Women have many concerns about smoking cessation, such as fear of weight gain, inability to deal with negative moods or anxiety, the influence of other tobacco users, difficulty in concentration, and other withdrawal symptoms. To reduce the urge of smoking, temporary changes in routine such as brushing teeth directly after eating, taking a walk instead of smoking, keeping fresh raw vegetable sticks on hand for snacking, reducing caffeine intake, adding exercise to your daily routine, avoiding exposure to “triggers” for a cigarette and reminding yourself that once you successfully quit, the urge for a cigarette will subside.
There are support groups online and in your community that are often helpful. Your physician can also work with you to possibly include cessation or mood stabilizing medications to help with this transition to non-smoking. The CDC resource, 1-800- Quit-Now can be very helpful.
Make 2017 the start of a smoke-free life and reduce the risks to your reproductive and general health.