Women and Smoking

Women are more emotionally dependent on cigarettes than men, according to a report commissioned for No Smoking Day.

The research, which analyses the differences between the sexes on smoking, reveals that 48% of women smokers feel unable to cope without a cigarette. This compares to just 35% of men.

 

In addition, 48% of women who smoke do so to give them confidence in social situations and 44% of female smokers regard smoking as their main source of pleasure.

The majority of women smokers (61%) say they would find it difficult to go a whole day without a cigarette.

 

In contrast, men seem to express views on their smoking in more physical and personal terms.

 

More male (47%) than female smokers (39%) want to stop smoking to improve their health and twice as many men as women want to stop to improve their own fitness.

Men smoke higher-tar brands and more cigarettes per day.

 

Stress is often cited as an important barrier to stopping smoking, particularly among women.

For men, alcohol plays a large part, with three times as many men as women saying they relapsed while drinking alcohol.

 

Gender differences

 

Robert West, Professor of Psychology at St George's Hospital Medical School and one of the report authors, said: "What this report shows is that men and women smoke for different reasons and this impacts on their attempts to quit.

 

"Family pressures and worries about stress and weight gain are at the forefront of women's minds.

 

"Men seem more self-motivated, quitting for their health and more personal reaons, and making quit attempts on their own."

 

Doreen McIntyre, chief executive of No Smoking Day, said: "The findings suggest that cessation advice tailored to the different emotional and physical needs of men and women could help more smokers quit.

"Our advice to women is to get the emotional support they need to quit and to try and understand why they use cigarettes as props in social situations.

 

"Putting fears about weight gain into perspective and dispelling the myth that cigarettes relieve stress are also important."

Ms McIntyre said men should be aware that they did not have to go it alone if they wanted to quit, and that help was available.

 

Partners' pressure

 

The report also identified that women are more likely to want to quit for the sake of their family and children, or because of pregnancy.

 

For many women smokers (42%) the main source of pressure to quit comes from their children, whereas for men, pressure is most likely to be exerted by their partner.

 

Study

 

Researchers at the Harvard Institute of Public Health wanted to determine what effect quitting smoking had on the overall health and longevity of women. They collected data on 104,519 women nurses, ages 30 to 55, over a 24-year period from 1980 to 2004.

Among these women, 12,483 died. Among those who died, approximately 1/3 had never smoked, 1/3 were current smokers, 1/3 were former smokers (two out of three deaths had a smoking history). Among the current smokers, 64% of the deaths were directly caused by smoking. Among the former smokers, 28% of the deaths were caused by smoking. That drop, from 64% to 28% is important. Quitting smoking helps.

The conclusion of the study was that if a woman stops smoking immediately, her risks of developing heart disease as a consequence of smoking start to drop from day one. Unfortunately, her lungs take longer to heal, and these risks continue for 20 years. The length of time you’ve smoked is important too. A teenager who starts smoking and continues through her adult life is in the highest risk group.

Can you Stop Smoking? Definitely!

For women, cigarettes act like comfort food for their calming effect. Women are more susceptible to stress because their level of stress-buffering serotonin is only a quarter that of men’s.  Men have much less difficulty quitting than do women. In much the same way that men can give up chocolate (a serotonin booster) in the blink of an eye, some women emotionally crumble at the thought.

If you begin by raising your serotonin stress buffer before plunging into quitting, the whole process will be much easier. And it is just as important to support your body’s detoxification processes so that the nicotine is flushed from your fat cells and it’s harmful effects cannot continue to plague you in the future. 

If you are still a smoker after all the bad press, the raise in cigarette prices and the scowls of your non-smoking family and friends, you are probably highly addctied.  You have tried to quit several times using nicotine replacement, hypnotism, acupuncture and the like.  But, for some of us, there is no quick or easy fix.  It requires an entire lifestyle change. 

   

 

 

 And if you are still not ready to quit, may I at least suggest a Healthier Alternative?

 

Nothing said, done, typed, inferred, printed or reproduced by this practitioner is intended to diagnose, prescribe, treat, cure or take the place of a licensed Physician.