With the liberalisation and concept of equality, women have been coming forward in every field. But in this process along with good things, they have picked up vices as well and one of them is smoking and other addictions.

The number of women smoking has gone up in Europe, other western world and even Asian countries. Some women smoke to show they are modern, while some take up to, "release stress”.

Whatever may be the reason for smoking in women but it is  more bad  for their health as well as overall personality as compared to men who smoke.

Firstly, it spoils the beauty of a woman. Discoloration of the fingers, discoloration of the lips due to chronic exposure to smoke and tar of cigarettes is more visible in women, due to the soft and fragile skin. The skin becomes dry, glow is lost and premature wrinkling occurs with lots of freckles on the face. Bags appear under the eyes even at a young age in women who smoke.

During pregnancy, smoking can cause abortions, intrauterine deaths and pre term babies. The baby may be born with damage to the lungs, respiratory problems, more susceptibility to asthma and may have a low IQ due to brain damage as well.  There is increased risk of defects in the heart for children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy. Problems that occur as sequel to smoking like chronic lung disease, aggravation of asthma, lung cancer, etc, occur early in women and with more severity. Smoking is a risk factor for other chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems also. Women as such are prone to these problems after menopause and smoking enhances the risk. Bone density is also reduced due to smoking and post menopausal women can develop severe softening of bones due to smoking. This manifests as chronic joints pain as well as spontaneous fractures of thigh bone or hips, without any trauma.

The health risks of smoking depend on the duration of smoking and number of cigarettes smoked per day. The intensity may vary but health hazards do occur.

I remember a young university student who was addicted to smoking.” The day I wish to have a baby, I shall quit’, she said. Many other young women also think similarly and take smoking lightly. But when they wish to stop it, they find it difficult because by that time, their bodies become physically and mentally habituated to tobacco. Women become dependant on it, sooner than men. If they go without it, they get withdrawal symptoms like  vague restlessness, palpitations and tremulousness of fingers, among other compelling them to take a cigarette again. Thus a vicious cycle is built up which makes it very difficult for them to quit smoking.

Therefore ideally, a woman should not start smoking.

It is better to quit before becoming addicted to it. Counseling individually and in groups  can help a woman  to quit smoking. Tranquilisers and mild sedatives help overcome the troublesome withdrawal symptoms.

Dr Rachna Pande is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital

rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk