Cigarettes More Toxic for Women, Study Finds Female smokers get
sicker at a younger age than their male counterparts, according
to a new study that looked at the lung damage caused by smoking.
Reuters reported May 18 that the study, led by researcher Inga-
Cecilie Soerheim of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and
the University of Bergen in Norway, looked at 954 men and women
with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The research
concluded that while both genders had similar lung problems due
to smoking, women under age 60 had worse disease and lung
function than men. “This means that female smokers in our study
experienced reduced lung function at a lower level of smoking
exposure and at an earlier age than men,” Soerheim said. Women
may be at risk even if they don't smoke heavily, she added.
“Many people believe that their own smoking is too limited to be
harmful — that a few cigarettes a day represent a minimal risk,”
said Soerheim. “However, in the low-exposure group in this
study, half of th