Study reveals women find it harder than men to quit smoking
3 May 2001
A new research review has found that although women may have a comparatively higher risk of smoking-related diseases than men, they are generally less successful than their male counterparts when it comes to kicking the habit.
The review, conducted by Dr Kenneth Perkins of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US and published in the May 2001 issue of CNS Drugs, produced some interesting results about nicotine replacement therapies (NRT).
It appears that some forms of NRT may be less effective for women than they are for men. In some of the studies reviewed by Perkins, women were less successful than men when being treated with nicotine gum or nicotine patches.
On the other hand, some non-NRT therapies may be more effective in women than men, for example, antidepressant medications (due to the finding that negative mood is more likely to lead to a smoking relapse in women than in men).
The study also pointed to the idea that certain gender-specific issues surrounding giving up smoking need to be addressed. These issues are most likely to require tailored behavioural counselling.
They include women’s higher level of concern than men about gaining weight when quitting, the situation that medications to aid quitting are not currently recommended for pregnant women and the fact that the phases of the female menstrual cycle affect tobacco withdrawal symptoms and responses to anti-smoking drugs.
Additionally, the review found that husbands may provide less effective support to women who are trying to quit smoking than wives give to husbands. Women may also be more susceptible than men to environmental cues to smoking, such as smoking with certain friends or during specific moods.
As for women’s higher risk of smoking-related diseases, Dr Perkins cited one study that found that women who smoked had almost twice the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) than men, while other studies pointed to the conclusion that female smokers may have close to double the risk of lung cancer than male smokers.
In addition, smoking is associated with more menstrual bleeding and dysmenorrhoea (period pain) and a greater variability in the lengths of menstrual cycles. Women who smoke find it harder to become pregnant and reach menopause on average a year or 2 younger than non-smoking females.
Dr Perkins concluded from his review that devising smoking cessation treatments that address the gender-specific concerns of women who smoke could increase their success rate at quitting. Such a move could be of even greater importance given the finding that women may be more susceptible to smoking-related illnesses than men.
Last Reviewed: 03 May 2001
- 1. CNS Drugs 2001; 15 (5): 391-411.
