Women & smoking: be a quitter; women who smoke have particular health risks - includes tips to stop smoking

A young woman in a 1926 Chesterfield advertisement isn't smoking, but she begs, "Blow some my way." In 1934 Eleanor Roosevelt attracted attention by smoking in public. By 1940 the tobacco companies had waged full-scale marketing campaigns to capture a female audience.

Unfortunately, the campaigns have worked. Today nearly as many women smoke as do men, and like all smokers, they incur major health risks. Heart disease. An ongoing, long-term study involving almost 12,000 female nurses nationwide shows that female smokers are also at risk for heart attacks (not just male smokers, as previously thought). And despite advertising claims suggesting that low-nicotine cigarettes are safer, women who smoke brands yielding less than .40 milligrams of nicotine per cigarette still have a greater chance of having a heart attack than nonsmoking women. Moreover, women who smoke and take oral contraceptives increase their risk of heart attack 10 times.

Tobacco smoke contains 4,000 compounds, including tar, ammonia, arsenic, and cyanide gas, but it's nicotine that deprives the heart of OxYgen, speeds up the heartbeat, increases blood pressure, and makes the heart work harder and faster. At the same time, the carbon monoxide (CO) in cigarettes is similar to car exhaust and is also responsible for sudden death from coronary heart disease. Lung diseases. Lung cancer deaths among women continue to rise about 6 percent a year, and for the third year in a row, more women died of lung cancer than breast cancer. The incidence of other cancers, such as cancer of the pancreas, larynx, mouth, esophagus, bladder, and kidney, is two to nine times higher in women who smoke than in women who do not smoke. And a study at Emory University shows that women who have smoked for at least 12 years increase their chances of getting cervical cancer almost thirteenfold.

Cigarettes are also a principal cause of chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. Marge, a 15-year-old smoker who kicked the habit four months ago and now attends an ongoing stop-smoking support group says, "My doctor told me that my distinctive 'smoker's cough' was a warning that the cilia-those tiny hairlike things that keep germs and infections from entering your lungs-were impaired. Every week I don't smoke, I have less of a smoker's hack." Doctors say the lungs of ex-smokers look almost normal after five years. Stroke. Female smokers have a 60 percent greater chance of having a stroke than nonsmokers, and this risk, as with lung cancer, increases with the number of cigarettes smoked. "There is a clear-cut relationship between cigarette smoking and stroke," explains Dr. Philip Wolf of the Boston University School of Medicine, "and it's not too late to quit at any age." Smoking and pregnancy. Pregnant smokers are risking a great deal. Babies of smoking moms are 204 grams about 7 ounces) lighter than babies of nonsmokers, and low-birth weight is a major factor in infant deaths. Other dangers include reduced fertility, miscarriages, stillbirths, premature births, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or crib death). Long-term research shows that children born to smoking mothers remain smaller in height and weight and slower in social development up tO seven years of age than children of nonsmoking mothers.

The experts say that human breast milk offers better nutrition and protection from infection for both mother and baby. Yet smokers show notable concentrations of nicotine in the breast milk. This nicotine, says Arthur Weaver, M.D., professor of surgery at Wayne State University in Detroit, increases the baby's heart rate and blood pressure. There is also evidence that breast-fed infants of smoking mothers are more likely to suffer colic than those whose moms don't light up. Deciding to quit. The most frequent reason women give for not kicking the habit is the fear of gaining weight. On the average, smokers burn about 69 extra calories each day, plus nicotine suppresses the desire for sugary foods.

However, it's important to note that if you're among the 40 to 50 percent who put on weight after quitting, the gain is likely to be small-five to ten excess pounds. A well-balanced diet and a daily exercise program will burn off extra calories and prevent weight gain.

When you kick the habit, family members, friends, and coworkers will no longer be exposed to your secondhand, or "sidestream," smoke. Your children will have less chance of developing bronchitis, pneumonia, allergies, and emphysema. "When our 4-year-old was diagnosed with asthma," says one mother of two preschoolers, "both my husband and I quit smoking." And because you're a role model, your children will be less likely to smoke if you don't smoke. Your spouse will be healthier too. For example, a study at the National Academy of Sciences found that a non-smoking mate has a 25 percent greater risk of having lung cancer if he breathes your tobacco fumes. Kicking the habit. There's no doubt quitting is tough. Nicotine is considered as addictive as cocaine. But you can kick the habit. More than 3 million Americans quit smoking every year. Here are some tips that will help: * Throw out your cigarettes, matches, and ashtrays. Janice Keller Phelps, M.D., coauthor of The Hidden Addiction and How to Get Free, says, "Constant reminders of smoking and constant availability of smoking materials can only make termination more difficult." * Get plenty of help from your friends. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that one of the best stop-smoking programs is face-to-face encouragement from physicians, friends, and relatives. * Drink lots of water and fruit juice after you quit. Water cleanses the body of nicotine and acts as an appetite suppressor. Fruit juice raises blood sugar levels to give you more energy. * Break smoking routines. If you smoke a cigarette after a meal or when talking on the phone, be careful of these trigger situations. Be aware of other vulnerable times such as working under pressure, feeling blue, having a drink, watching television, driving or sitting in the car, or watching someone else light up. For example, I avoided coffee for about two months after I quit because for me a cup of coffee triggered an intense craving for a cigarette. * Find new habits. Whenever you feel yourself getting tense, exercise vigorously or do deep-breathing exercises to relax. Take up swimming, jogging, crossword puzzles, or needlework to keep 20 your hands busy and your thoughts off cigarettes. * Expect urges or craving but don't give in to them. A week after I quit, I read an article that said the strong "craving" to smoke a cigarette lasts only three minutes. That information was like magic. I thought, I can tolerate anything for three minutes. Most nicotine is gone from the body within two or three days, so the craving is psychological, and mental resistance can lick it. It has been almost seven years since I quit, but I still experience an urge to smoke on occasion, especially when I see and smell someone light a cigarette. Then I remind myself that I'm a nonsmoker and remember the many headaches I had when I smoked. I focus on how good it feels to be smokefree. The urge passes within seconds. * Keep low-calorie foods on hand. Fresh fruit, vegetables, air-popper popcorn without butter, pickles, sunflower seeds, and sugarless gum or candy are good substitutes for the feel of cigarettes. * Avoid the nicotine-containing gum Nicorette if you're pregnant. This chewing gum is supposed to trick the body into thinking it has just had a cigarette, but each piece contains more nicotine than the average cigarette. Nicorette, if used, should only be an interim step to getting off nicotine altogether. * Save the money you would spend on cigarettes. A pack-a-day smoker spends about $500 a year. Ask yourself how you want to spend $500. Or give yourself small rewards each day. * Contact your local American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, or American Heart Association listed in the yellow pages of your telephone directory. Each association has information for quitting on your own or with a group. * Believe you can quit. Says Dr. Arthur Weaver, "You need to realize that most successful quitters have quit several times. You only fail if you fail to try again." Dianne-Jo Moore is a free-lance writer who specializes in health articles. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tips to Stop Smoking by Linda Slater

Here's some advice from former smokers on how to kick the habit.

1. Prepare yourself to be smoke-free. Begin to cut down on your smoking. Eat three well-balanced meals a day. Drink plenty of fruit juices. They'll help you overcome the urge to smoke. Eat foods that are rich in the B vitamins such as whole-grain cereals, nuts, and dark-green leafy vegetables. Be sure to get eight good hours of sleep a night .Begin to think of your self as a nonsmoker.

2. Get plenty of fresh air and exercise each day. You may want to take a walk each time you feel the urge to smoke. Take up a new sport. If you are quitting in the winter, you may want to join a health spa for exercise and diversion from "smoke thought. "

3. Eliminate all caffeine from your life. There are many kinds of wonderful herbal teas to enjoy. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol may stimulate your craving for cigarettes.

4. Change your routine. One woman cut her smoking in half by staying busy. Instead of sitting sit her favorite "smoking spot," the kitchen table, for her ritual of coffee and cigarettes each morning, she quickly got up and began cleaning the house, sewing, and painting with watercolors. Her interest won out over her habit.

5. Each time you need a cigarette, take three deep breaths. Cigarette smokers often love the relaxation that comes with deep inhalation. Their body craves oxygen and is literally suffocating from carbon monoxide. The deep breaths help the body to relax and get more oxygen.

6. Try to get oral gratification in other ways. Suck on sugar-free mints. Chew sugar-free gum. Cut a straw up into the size of a cigarette and keep it in your mouth. One man had good success sipping sassafras tea three times a day. He said it took away his desire for smoking.

7. Brush your teeth immediately after meals. it gets you up from the table and removes traces of food that can trigger a craving to smoke.

8. Keep your hands busy at all times. Take up woodworking, knitting, crocheting, quilting, painting, photography, or pottery making. Get a small rubber ball and squeeze it while you have to sit in one place.

9. Learn relaxation techniques. Close your eyes and take a "mind vacation." Check out a book from the library on relaxation exercises.

10. Read literature on the effects of smoking. The American Cancer Society and many churches give out free literature on the effects of smoking on your life. Many of these organizations sponsor stop-smoking clinics.

11. Begin to change your self-image. Love yourself and your body. Think of yourself as a winner and not a loser. Do not associate with smokers for at least a month after you quit. Tell your friends and relatives that you are no longer a smoker. Put a sign on your mirror and your refrigerator that says "I am a winner. I am a nonsmoker." Ask for the nonsmoking section in restaurants, and other public places. Don't let other smokers make fun of your quitting.

12. Begin to reward yourself for not smoking. You will save money by quitting. A two-pack-a-day habit can eat up more than $500 a year! Think about what you will do with the money you save. One man put the money he normally spent on smoking in a piggy bank and took his family on a vacation at the end of his first smoke-free year.

13. Remember that it will got a little easier each day after quitting. Your body will repair itself as time passes. It takes about 21 days to start or stop a habit. Have a "21 day" party and invite all your friends ! 14. Pray each day that you will get stronger and more healthy. Each time you want a cigarette, say a prayer. You'll find strength to resist.

15. Picture yourself as a strong, nonsmoking, healthy person. You will be a person who lives longer, feels better, and leads a more productive life. Linda Slater writes from Arvada, Colorado.

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