The effect of smoking on our body is always described as harmful. It is estimated that about 40% of women are addicted to nicotine. Also in terms of menopause, cigarettes are a disadvantage – research confirms that smoking we run the risk of an earlier menopause.
To stay healthy, it is not enough to have only good habits – you also need to get rid of the bad ones, which is often difficult to achieve, but not impossible. One of the most common addictions is smoking. Tobacco has many harmful effects. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease almost twofold in women who smoke about ten cigarettes a day, and five times in women who smoke even more.
According to Norwegian scientists from the University of Oslo, women who smoke can reach menopause before the age of 45, which makes them more likely to suffer from osteoporosis and heart disease. The Norwegians surveyed over 2 women aged 59 and 60. It turned out that tobacco addicts are almost 60% more likely to experience an early menopause than non-smokers.
- in women who smoke cigarettes, the menopause period may start up to 5 years earlier than in the case of non-smokers;
- some symptoms, e.g. hot flashes, are felt by people addicted to tobacco much more intensively;
- they also age visually much earlier – due to the influence of free radicals found in cigarette smoke, the upper layer of the epidermis becomes thin and flaccid, the skin has less ability to regenerate and loses its firmness;
- smokers are at higher risk of myocardial infarction in the postmenopausal period;
- Women who smoke can develop osteoporosis much earlier.
As you can see, smoking causes many adverse health complications and contributes to the earlier onset of menopause. Norwegian research also shows that the more a woman smokes, the greater the risk of an earlier menopause. They found that women who smoked but quit smoking at least 10 years before menopause were less likely to stop menstruating earlier than those who continued to smoke. So if we want to enjoy health and youth as long as possible, we should try to quit the addiction. It’s not easy, but there are some simple ways to help you cut down on smoking:
- smoke cigarettes only with a filter and with a low tar content,
- don’t keep them with you
- don’t drag yourself
- smoke less than 5 cigarettes a day,
- do not smoke the cigarette to the end, just leave the butt.