Women smoke for different reasons. Some women smoke to deal with stress or control weight. Younger women may start smoking to rebel, show independence, or be accepted by their peers. But there is never a good reason to smoke.

Health Reasons to Quit

Smoking causes serious health problems, including:

• cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, and stomach
• leukemia (a cancer of blood-forming tissues)
• lung diseases
• atherosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of the arteries
• heart attacks
• stroke
• gum disease
• eye diseases that can lead to blindness

Smoking also:

• makes illnesses last longer
• causes more wound infections after surgery
• makes it harder to get pregnant
• increases your risk of getting a hip fracture

Smoking during pregnancy is especially dangerous. Smoking while pregnant can cause:

• placenta separates too early from the wall of the uterus. This can lead to early labor or infant death.
• water breaking, before labor starts, so the baby is born too early
• a baby with a low birth weight
• damage to an infant's lungs

Other Benefits of Quitting

When you quit, you will never again have to leave your workplace, your home, or other places to smoke. Over time, you will see some of the other benefits of quitting:

• your teeth will be cleaner
• your breath will smell better
• the stain marks on your fingers will fade
• your skin is less wrinkled
• you are able to smell and taste things better

You will also feel stronger and be able to be more active.