About 178,000 women die in the United States each year because of smoking-related diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, smoking deprives these women of an additional 14.5 years of life. Smoking also impacts pregnancy and even damages children.
Identification
Although women are less likely to smoke than men, nearly one in five women age 18 and older in the United States is a smoker, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A larger percentage of younger women smoke: 21 percent for ages 25 to 44 compared with only 8 percent of women over 65. When broken down by ethnic groups, smoking is most common among American Indians or Alaska Natives, 26.8 percent of whom smoke. They're followed by whites at 20 percent, African-Americans at 17.3 percent and Hispanics at 11.1 percent.
Effects
Smoking kills women in several ways, but the three main culprits are lung cancer, heart disease and chronic lung disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lung cancer now claims more women's lives than breast cancer, making it the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Smoking accounts for 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths in women who smoked.
Considerations
Smoking also affects other aspects of your health, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you smoke, you face an increased risk for several other cancers. That includes cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder and uterine cervix. If you're postmenopausal and a smoker, your bone density will be lower than women who never smoked and your risk for hip fracture higher.
Warning
If you smoke, you're putting more than your life at risk, warns the American Cancer Society. It notes that if you're pregnant, you're increasing the risk of early delivery and infant death. Secondhand smoke is also harmful to your children. Their lungs don't grow as much as the lungs of children who don't live around smokers. They suffer from bronchitis and pneumonia more often, and they cough and wheeze more. Your secondhand smoke can trigger a child's asthma attack or make asthma symptoms worse.
Quitting
If you quit smoking, you can help reduce many of the harmful effects associated with it. Heart disease risk is reduced 1 to 2 years after quitting, according to the American Cancer Society. The risk of stroke returns to normal in 10 to 15 years. Many women are concerned about gaining weight. Figures vary, but the average weight gain is about 10 pounds after quitting. The benefits, however, outweigh any problem linked to adding a few pounds.
