Skip directly to searchSkip directly to A to Z listSkip directly to navigationSkip directly to site contentSkip directly to page options

CDC Home

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Your Online Source for Credible Health Information

About CDC.gov

## Smoking & Tobacco Use

### Home

            - About This Office                  - Vision, Mission, Goals
              - Organization
              - Partnerships and Actions
              - Programs and Efforts 
            - Quit Smoking                  - How to Quit                  - I Quit
                - Pathways to Freedom
                - Quit Tips
                - You Can Quit Smoking 
              - Cessation Program Materials                  - Coverage for…Cessation Treatments
                - A Practical Guide…Working with Healthcare Systems
                - Youth Tobacco Cessation 
            - Basic Information                  - Health Effects                    - Cancer
                - Heart Disease and Stroke
                - Respiratory Health
                - Smoking During Pregnancy 
              - Secondhand Smoke
              - Smokeless Tobacco
              - Tobacco Industry and Products                    - Federal Tax Increase
                - Tobacco Ingredient Reporting 
              - Related Links                    - Government Agencies
                - Other U.S. Organizations
                - International Organizations 
            - Data and Statistics                  - Surgeon General's Reports                    - 2006
                - 2004
                - 2001
                - 2000
                - 1998
                - 1994
                - Pre-1994
                - History 
              - State Data                    - 2006 Data Highlights 
              - Surveys                    - National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS)
                - Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS)
                - American Indian Adult Tobacco Survey Implementation Manual
                - Hispanic/Latino ATS Guide 
              - Tables, Charts, and Graphs                  - Adult Data
                - Economics
                - Health Effects
                - Trends 
              - Information by Topic
              - Fact Sheets
              - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports 
            - Youth Tobacco Prevention                  - Celebrities Against Smoking
              - Tobacco-Free Sports Initiative
              - DVDs and Videos 
            - Tobacco Control Programs                  - State and Community Resources
              - Surveillance and Evaluation
              - Campaigns and Events 
            - Health Disparities
            - Global Tobacco Control                  - Overview
              - Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS)                    - Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)
                - Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS)
                - Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS)
                - Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 
              - Partners 
            - Publications and Products
            - Media Communications                  - Tobacco Control Media Events Calendar
              - Counter-Marketing                  - Media Campaign Resource Center
                - Counter-Marketing Manual
                - Entertainment 
            - Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health                - Overview
              - Membership Roster
              - Meeting Summaries                  - 09/18/2007
                - 03/05/2007
                - 04/13/2005
                - 03/09/2004
                - 11/06/2003
                - 02/11/2003
                - 08/14/2001
                - 10/26/2000 
            - Frequently Asked Questions

#### Quick Links

              - For help with quitting…
              - 1-800-QUIT-NOW       	1-800-784-8669  		TTY 1-800-332-8615

#### Related CDC Sites

              - Division of Cancer Prevention and Control
              - Division of Reproductive Health
              - More CDC Sites

# Women and Tobacco

### Fact Sheets

                      - Adult Data
                      - Cessation and Interventions
                      - Economics
                      - Fast Facts
                      - Health Effects

                      -  Secondhand Smoke
                      - Smokeless Tobacco
                      - Specific Populations
                      - Tobacco Industry and Products
                      - Youth and Young Adult Data

## Health Effects and Mortality

            - Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 178,000 women 			in the United States annually. 1  The three leading 			smoking–related causes of death in women are lung cancer (45,000), 			heart disease (40,000), and chronic lung disease (42,000). 1
            - Ninety percent of all lung cancer deaths in women 			smokers are attributable to smoking. 2  Since 1950, lung 			cancer deaths among women have increased by more than 600 percent. 			By 1987, lung cancer had surpassed breast cancer as the leading 			cause of cancer–related deaths in women. 2
            - Women who smoke have an increased risk for other 			cancers, including cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx 			(voice box), esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and uterine 			cervix. 2  Women who smoke double their risk for developing 			coronary heart disease and increase by more than tenfold their 			likelihood of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 2,3
            - Cigarette smoking increases the risk for 			infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and 			sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 2 
            - Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone 			density than women who never smoked. 2  Women who smoke 			have an increased risk for hip fracture than never smokers. 2

## National Estimates of Tobacco Use

            - An estimated 18.1% of adult U.S. women aged 18 			years or older (slightly less than 1 of 5) are current cigarette 			smokers. 4  Cigarette smoking estimates for women by age 			are as follows: 18–24 years (20.7%), 25–44 years (21.4%), 45–64 			years (18.8%), and 65 years or older (8.3%). 4
            - Prevalence of cigarette smoking is highest among 			women who are American Indians or Alaska Natives (26.8%), followed 			by whites (20%), African Americans (17.3%), Hispanics (11.1%), and 			Asians [excluding Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders] 			(6.1%). 4
            - Cigarette smoking estimates are highest for women 			with a General Educational Development (GED) diploma (38.8%) or 9–11 			years of education (29.0%), and lowest for women with an 			undergraduate college degree (9.6%) or a graduate college degree 			(7.4%). 4
            - Smoking prevalence is higher among women living 			below the poverty level (26.9%) compared with women living at or 			above the poverty level (17.6%). 4
            - An estimated 18% of pregnant women aged 15–44 years 			smoke cigarettes, compared with 30% of nonpregnant women of the same 			age. 5
            - The use of cigars and smokeless tobacco among 			females is generally low—1.9% of females 12 or older are current 			cigar smokers, 5  and 0.3% are current smokeless tobacco 			users. 5

## References

            - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 			 			Cigarette Smoking Among Adults—United States, 2004 . 			Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. 			2005;54(44):1121–1124 [accessed 2006 Nov 6].
            - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 			 Women and Smoking: A Report 			of the Surgeon General . Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of 			Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National 			Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office 			on Smoking and Health; 2001 [accessed 2006 Nov 6].
            - Novotny TE, Giovino, GE. 			 Tobacco Use . In: Brownson RC, 			Remington PL, Davis JR (eds). Chronic Disease Epidemiology and 			Control, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 			1998;117–148 [accessed 2006 Nov 6].
            - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.			 			Tobacco Use Among Adults—United States, 2005 . Morbidity 			and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. 2006;55(42):1145–1148 			[accessed 2006 Nov 6].
            - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 			Administration. 			 			Results from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 			National Findings, Tobacco Use .  (PDF–1.17 MB)  			Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 			Administration, Office of Applied Studies; 2005 [accessed 2006 Nov 			6].

### For Further Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention		National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion		Office on Smoking and Health		E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov		Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO

Media Inquiries: Contact CDC's Office on Smoking and Health press 		line at 770-488-5493.				Return to Top
 
- Text size:
- s
- m
- l
- xl
- Email page
- Print page
- Bookmark and share    - Add this to...
  - Favorites
  - Del.icio.us
  - Digg
  - Facebook
  - Google Bookmarks
  - Yahoo MyWeb 
- Subscribe to RSS
- Listen to audio/Podcast
Legend- Link to a PDF  (Adobe Acrobat ™  Reader needs to be installed on your computer in order to read PDFs.)   Download the Reader
- Link to nonfederal Web site   Exit Notification and Disclaimer Policy on nonfederal Web sites
Contact Us:- CDC/Office on Smoking and Health   4770 Buford Highway  MS K-50  Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3717
- 800-CDC-INFO                      	(800-232-4636)  											TTY: (888) 232-6348                        24 Hours/Every Day
- tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
- Email
- Print
- Share    - Add this to...
  - Favorites
  - Del.icio.us
  - Digg
  - Facebook
  - Google Bookmarks
  - Yahoo MyWeb 
- Subscribe
- Listen
File Formats Help:- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

How do you view different file formats(PDF, DOC, PPT, MPEG) on this site?
- Page last reviewed:  May 29, 2009
- Page last updated:  May 29, 2009
- Content source:  Office on Smoking and Health ,		 National Center for Chronic 				Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- Home
- A-Z Index
- Site Map
- Policies
- About CDC.gov
- Link to Us
- All Languages
- CDC Mobile
- Contact CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA		800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)	TTY: (888) 232-6348, 24 Hours/Every Day - cdcinfo@cdc.govA-Z Index- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
- #