Smoking Risks
No once can dispute the fact that smoking is a health hazard. But tobacco is also highly addictive. Thus, it is not such a surprise why 20% of the total deaths in the country are due to smoking. Furthermore, cancer deaths resulting from tobacco use comprise around one-third of the total number of cancer-related deaths.
There have been extensive studies conducted to establish smoking risks to breast health. But despite considerable efforts, the relationship between the risk of developing breast cancer and cigarette smoking remains a controversial issue.
Recent studies, however, pointed out that women who do not smoke but are living or working in places where they are exposed to cigarette smoke have increased breast cancer risks.
Results of the various studies have suggested that smoking risks are high for women who are actively smoking. Experts said that the studies conducted have found out that the breast fluid of women who smoke contains some tobacco substances which are known to cause cancer. This has made them conclude that tobacco smoking in women really does increase their risk of getting breast cancer.
Other studies have shown that the health risks of smoking are high in women who belong to families with high genetic risk of breast cancer. Although majority of the epidemiological tests done fail to come up with strong proofs, results were very suggestive about heightened smoking risks on females from families with genetic history of cancer.
Another research conducted stated that young females who begin tobacco smoking within the first five years if their menstrual period are about 70% more vulnerable to having breast cancer than women who do not smoke at all. This research about the breast health risks of smoking was conducted on 2,047 women, of whom 1,018 have the disease.
The research further explained that the reason why smoking in younger women poses a higher risk is because the cells which composed the breasts are not yet fully developed during puberty. Because of this, the breasts are more prone to the cancer-causing substances found in tobacco. The results of this research has reinforced the need of smoking prevention in teens, particularly women.
There are also evidences that suggest the increased smoking risks in pre-menopausal women. However, evidence also pointed out that the health risks from smoking decrease with post-menopausal women weight problems. The reason cited is that estrogen production, which is associated to breast cancer, may have been blocked by the tobacco substances. This finding was found to be true for post-menopausal women who have had their first full term pregnancy and are overweight since entering adulthood before they started smoking.
Regardless if there hasn’t been very conclusive proofs to support the findings, more studies and research have reiterated that active smoking for several years can raise a woman’s breast cancer risks. There are studies which reveal that a woman who had been actively smoking for at least 40 years is 60% more prone to having breast cancer than the women who have not smoked at all.
Women who smoked at not less than 20 cigarettes everyday for 40 years increases their risks to 83%. Results have concluded that smoking risks are greatest in women who smoke intensely and for very long periods of time.
The reason why the relationship between smoking risks and breast health is a controversial matter is because there are studies that show that there smoking actually promotes breast health in women with gene mutation associated to high breast cancer risks.
Even though there is an ongoing debate about the real effect of smoking on breast health, everyone knows for a fact that smoking never does any good to a person’s overall well-being. Thus, it is safe to assume that smoking wouldn’t really do anything to promote breast health.