Menopause

It has long since been assumed that smoking cigarettes can affect when a woman starts menopause and until recently it was widely believed that long-term smoking results in the menopause starting 1-3 years earlier than it would in a similar non-smoker. Now however studies have proved this claim.

Recent studies carried out in Massachusetts, America have shown that certain chemicals present in tobacco smoke can accelerate the rate at which eggs die in the female ovaries. This means that because the eggs die more quickly than normal, the ovaries go into premature failure and the menopause begins. Statistics show that women who smoke ten cigarettes or more per day are around 40% more likely to experience an early menopause than their non-smoking counterparts and this can happen up to 3 years earlier than normal. Not only does this cut down the number of years that a woman remains fertile for, it also means that they have a higher risk of developing heart disease and osteoporosis; two serious conditions that are much more prevalent in post-menopausal women.

In addition to the risk of early menopause, smokers also tend to suffer with more severe symptoms. The common symptoms such as hot flashes, tiredness, sleeping difficulties and irregular periods are often felt to a greater degree in smokers than non-smokers and this makes the menopause a much more unpleasant experience. Women often want to do whatever they can to control or combat the symptoms of the menopause and giving up smoking has been found to have a very positive effect.

Smoking can continue to affect a woman even after menopause has been reached because the risk of developing conditions such as osteoporosis and heart disease are thought to be amplified in smokers. In fact, studies show that smokers are around 30-35% more likely to fracture their hip than non-smokers and the more years a female has smoked for the more this percentage increases. It takes up to 5 years of being a non-smoker for this percentage to drop by just 2% and so even if a female quits after they have reached menopause they are still a much higher risk for bone breakages than if they had never smoked at all.

There are hundreds of reasons to give up smoking and an early menopause is just one of them. In today's society, it is becoming increasingly common for women to embark upon a career before having a family and so the age at which many first babies are born is gradually getting higher. For smokers, the pre-menopause could potentially start as early as 37 and this could seriously hamper their chances of becoming pregnant after they have had their career.

Smoking can also contribute to the probability of developing a female cancer, such as ovarian, uterine and cervical cancer and if they remain undetected these cancers can cause premature ovarian failure and thus an early menopause. It is important to delay the menopause for as long as possible so that every woman has as long as they can to conceive and have a child and giving up smoking can definitely help this to happen.