Smoking causes nearly 20% of all deaths related to heart diseases and 10% of all stroke-related deaths. If you are pregnant, smoking increases the risk of abortion, stillbirth and low-birth weight.
Smoking in the family
Children of smokers more often suffer from inflammation of the chest and ears and can contract asthma more easily. Children whose parents smoke are generally smaller than children of non-smokers, and studies show that passive smoking in childhood increases the risk of smoker’s lungs and cancer in adult life.
Smoking by women
There are several reasons why women should not smoke:
- Women who smoke and take contraceptive pills at the same time are exposed to increased risk of heart diseases and strokes
- Cancer of the neck of uterus is more frequent among smokers
- Smoking affects fertility and smokers’ chances of becoming pregnant are only two thirds of those of non-smokers
- Pregnant smokers experience a higher number of complications when giving birth, are exposed to an increased risk of giving birth to children with low birth weight and their risk of abortion is twice as high
- The risk of giving birth to a stillborn child is considerably greater among women who smoke
- On average, women who smoke reach menopause two years before non-smokers
Quit smoking
Is it ever too late to quit smoking? The answer to this question is a definite ‘no’.
Read more... Did you know that
– smokers on average die 10 years before non-smokers, and that heavy smokers catch a long-term disease much earlier than those who have never smoked? On average, it is 8 years earlier for men and 11 years earlier for women.
Source: Danish Cancer Society