The risk for dying of lung cancer is 20 times higher among women who smoke two or more packs of cigarettes per day than among women who do not smoke. Smoking is a major cause of cancers of the oropharynx and bladder among women. Evidence is also strong that women who smoke have increased risks for liver, colorectal, and cervical cancer, and cancers of the pancreas and kidney. For cancers of the larynx and esophagus, evidence among women is more limited but consistent with large increases in risk. Smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease among women.
Risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the duration of smoking.
Risk is substantially reduced within 1 or 2 years of smoking cessation. This immediate benefit is followed by a more gradual reduction in risk to that among nonsmokers by 10 to 15 or more years after cessation. Women who smoke have an increased risk for stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Women who smoke have an increased risk for death from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. They also have risk for peripheral vascular atherosclerosis, but cessation is associated with improvements in symptoms, prognosis, and survival.