Two hundred smokers took part in the experiment. Half of the subjects quit smoking during the initial, follicular stage of the cycle. Participants from the second group made a similar attempt in the phase of the corpus luteum, which precedes menstruation.
Thirty days after the start of the study, eighty-six percent of the women in the first group started smoking again. In the second group, this figure was only sixty-six percent.
According to scientists, the revealed pattern may be associated with changes in hormonal levels at different stages of the menstrual cycle. It is possible that changes in hormone levels may affect the severity of withdrawal from cigarette cessation. In addition, the intensity of metabolism and the rate of elimination of nicotine from the body of smokers may depend on the hormonal background.
On
BBC.