Smoking Cigarettes More Harmful For Women Than Men

Boston (HealthKnowItAll) - Smoking cigarettes may result in greater health problems for women than for men, say the researchers of a new study.

No matter who is smoking, the risks that come with the habit are aboundless, and range from heart disease and hypertention, to stroke and lung cancers.

According to the research team, women’s lungs are more susceptible to the harmful effects of tobacco, which would explain why women are at greater risk of health problems.

For their study the researchers analyzed the health of more than 900 men and women, all of whom smokers.

They found that women who smoked less, and who were of a younger age, were just as likely to develop health problems as men who were older and who smoked more.

“This means that female smokers in our study experienced reduced lung function at a lower level of smoking exposure and at an earlier age than men,” Dr. Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, a lead researcher of the study, said in a statement.

The study was presented at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego, California.