Lung cancer mortality has increased steadily in Wisconsin women since 1970, and shows no sign of leveling off. Trends in women's lung cancer mortality can be clearly tied to smoking behavior, currently observed increases in lung cancer rates mirror trends in women's uptake of smoking 30-40 years ago. Reproductive Health Women who smoke are more likely to experience negative side effects from oral contraceptive use, including an increased risk for blood clots and heart disease. Smoking is associated with a variety of hazards during the reproductive years, including increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome. Cardiovascular Diseases Smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes.
Many studies demonstrate that women are less successful in quitting smoking than men.
Further research is needed to explain this phenomenon, but depression, fear of weight gain, and menstrual cycle influences may contribute to the discrepancy. Women motivated to quit smoking can succeed. In addition to a personal commitment required to quit, the nicotine patch is one of the most successful aids to promote cessation. Overall, a six week course of the nicotine patch has been demonstrated to double the likelihood that a woman will successfully quit.