Impacts of Smoking on Women’s Health: A Review

Abstract

Despite the known risks of smoking, 18.5% of

American women still smoke.

(1) Most of them were

in the reproductive ages, between 25 and 44 years old.

Even more alarming, 12% of women giving birth reported

themselves as smokers during pregnancy.

(2) Asian

women had the lowest smoking prevalence, whereas

American Indian/Alaska natives were among the

highest. Prevalence of Thai women who smoke was

much lower, compared to western countries. However,

an upward trend of Thai teenage smokers from 0.3

to 0.6% was observed in the year 2002. Given its

magnitude and prevalence, the topic of smoking

concerning women’s health was included in the

scientific program of the 1

st International Congress on

Women’s Health and Unsafe Abortion, which was held

in Bangkok, Thailand in January 2010. This invited

commentary is to summarize the content presented at

this didactic meeting.