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MyHealthNewsDaily
Female smokers are more likely to die from lung cancer now than a few decades ago, a new study says.
In the 1960s, female smokers were 2.7 times more likely to die from lung cancer compared with women who didn't smoke. By the 1980s, women who smoked were 12.6 times more likely to die from lung cancer, and in the 2000s, they were 25.7 times more likely to die from lung cancer, the study found.
The dramatic increase reflects changes in smoking patterns among women that began in the 1960s. (Because lung cancer takes years to develop, changes in smoking patterns would not start to influence deaths until many years later.)
In the '60s, more women started smoking during their teenage years (a trend that men had already embraced during the 1930s). The number of cigarettes smoked per day was highest in men in the 1970s, and highest in women in the 1980s.
The findings confirm the prediction that "women who smoke like men die like men," the researchers write in the Jan. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The risk of death from lung cancer among male smokers has been level since the 1980s, and is about the same as the risk of death from lung cancer among female smokers today.
The risk of death from chronic obstructive lung disease continues to increase in both sexes.
This increase may be due in part to the introduction of blended tobacco lowering the pH of cigarette smoke, making the smoke easier to inhale deeper into the lungs, said study researcher Dr. Michael Thun, former vice president emeritus of the American Cancer Society.
The good news is that quitting smoking at any age lowers the risk of death from smoking-related diseases, though quitting before the age of 40 is particularly effective at cutting risk, the researchers said. [See Quitting Smoking Lengthens Women's Lives.]
The study included information from more than 2.2 million adults ages 55 and older.
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If you quit driving, or riding in vehicles, you reduce your chances of dying from an accident.
You NEED to smoke? Smoking is like driving? Ever think of not typing something stupid like this before you do?
My aunt is 91 and stopped smoking about 4 years ago.She is currently dying with a hospice nurse at her side with pain med's.Her lungs are not the problem.Her hip broke,she had a replacement and refused to do the physical therapy after surgery.Now 5 months after hip replacement surgery, she was going through the physical therapy and had a stroke.My absolute favorite aunt but at 91 she has had a disease free and wonderful life.The particulate matter in the air is one of the big factors causing lung disease.
Unfortunately your aunt is not 450,000 people who die of cigarette smoke caused disease. Believe it or not there are a WHOLE lot of people in this country besides your aunt. As a hospice volunteer and volunteer EMT, I've cared for a fair number of people dying of COPD, heart disease and cancer caused by smoking.
Not one of them was your aunt.
Women started working in factories in large number in the 70's and their exposure to toxins increased exponentially.
Tobacco is the best thing that ever happened to cover up the effects of toxic chemicals in our society.
Cigarette smoke HAS toxic chemicals in it. And women who work in offices, and smoke, get lung cancer too.
My mom started smoking as a teen in the 60's and now has terminal lung cancer. She smoked heavily so this isn't a huge surprise, but it sure is sad. I hate cigarettes and it's hard to see her still addicted even with a few weeks to live.
I wonder if the 'study' took into account the changes...I mean 'enhancements'....to the chemicals used to process the raw tobacco.
And, for what it is worth, there WILL be another surge in death rates as the full impact of the 'fire safe cigarette' chemicals take effect.
And the squeaky clean will say: "But really...who gives a damn. It's just smokers and they have been kicked to the societal curb. Society must be protected. Too bad for them....."
@ Bob...
As I see you really have nothing constructive to add, except condesending comments towards other comments, I'll do a little of the same.
There are people who have smoked thier entire lives, and have not developed related illnesses. There are people who have been smoke free thier entire lives, and have suffered horribly due to many types of cancer, yes some lung cancer.
You just can't blame everything on smoking. I have been a CNA in a nursing home for 28 years. Believe me when I say, it just doesn't matter.
When you do studies on smokers, you're gonna get results relating to smoking. Let's do some studies on old ladies who where very strong perfume. Bet you'll get some results showing strong perfume causes cancer.
We're all gonna die of something, except maybe you, you seem to have it all figured out buddy.
Anyone who thinks they only have to worry about lung cancer if they smoke is fooling themselves.. It increases your risk of just about every kind of cancer, breast, pancreatic, throat just to name a few... also other lung disease, heart disease.. My husband's aunt is in her 80's now , a lifetime smoker.. she needs surgery but they don't risk it because of her lungs. She undergoes physical therapy but she's in a lot of pain and the quality of life she could have is just not there because of smoking. Yes we're all going to die of something, Still, smoking is a risk factor we can control and we don't have to tempt fate do we.