Judgement of snuff - The immediate benefits of women's health

If more people decide or the projection of quitting, approximately 15 million French still breathes smoke cigarettes. The decision to quit, can come from family members, a change of lifestyles, or even health warnings. Few major reason motivating this judgement, the researchers argue that there are still other reasons for people - especially women - to quit now.

The conclusion is that women who quit smoking cigarettes see major improvements in health and benefits in the first five years after stopping. The risk of death from all causes, including from heart disease, vascular diseases, respiratory diseases and lung cancer has decreased significantly among women who stop smoking, and these risks could be completely reduced to that there is nothing after 20 or 30 years, as if they had never smoked.

Published in the number on May 7 in the journal of the American Medical Association (Jama), a study on the subject was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health. Its author, Stacey A. Kenfield, noted that the harmful effects of smoking can be reversed. According to him, the sooner a person quits smoking, is the best regarding all aspects of one's health.

The study covered more than 100 000 American women whose data were recorded in 1976 and followed in subsequent years until 2004. The women were aged between 30 and 55 at the beginning of the study and participants have completed detailed health questionnaires every two years during the study period. A total of 12 483 deaths occurred in the group with whom 29% were smokers and 35% had a history of smoking. The results were more severe in smokers with that 64% of deaths, including 2% of deaths during smokers have been attributed to consumption of snuff. Other aspects of the study showed that there is a specific relationship between snuff and colorectal cancer among women, although more detailed studies should be carried out for more information.

Most results are encouraging. Women who have stopped smoking there has been a 13% reduction in the risk of death in general. In terms of respiratory illnesses, there was a reduction of 18% within 5 to 10 years after quitting, and with regard to disease coronairiennes, there was 21% lower risk of death. The risk of lung cancer have had more time than any other to disappear - 30 years - but reducing the risk of death really was 21% in the first 5 years.

Women who started smoking later in their lives, especially after 25 years, have a much lower risk of being affected by a disease of the heart or lungs, but previous studies have shown that most women are more accustomed to young people start smoking, usually before age 18. The current smokers have nearly tripled the risk of death caused by snuff compared with other causes of death among women who never smoked.

"Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.," said the report. "Overall, about 5 million premature deaths are attributable to the consumption of snuff in 2000. The World Health Organization projects that by 2030 the mortality due to snuff each year account for 3 million deaths in industrialized countries and 7 million in developing countries. "

These data are still theoretical, but with other studies showing that smoking can reduce the risk of immediate illness and death, perhaps when considering emptying ashtrays, for the last time for all.