Smoke alarm: a review of the clinical impact of smoking on women

This article is a review of the health impacts of smoking on women and their newborns, with an overview of the prevalence of smoking, mortality statistics, and costs. Over 50 disorders related to smoking are identified. These include many chronic and severe problems that are often overshadowed by the more well-known impacts of cancer and cardiac disease. Female impacts of smoking include two-fold rates of ectopic pregnancy, premature delivery, and low-birthweight infants; earlier menopause; pelvic-floor disorders, including urinary incontinence; menstrual disturbances; decreased fertility; greater risk of oral contraceptive failure; and babies with increased rates of sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, and attention-deficit disorders. From a clinical perspective, one in five women is addicted to nicotine. In addition, women smokers experience a stronger response to nicotine and incur higher rates of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease than their male counterparts.