Does exposure to environmental tobacco smoke increase the risk for breast cancer? Some case-control studies have suggested that possibility, but the link remains controversial.
Tobacco products, particularly the cigarette brands that have been most heavily promoted to women smokers, may vary significantly in the levels of known carcinogens. Not much data exist on how brands vary in toxicity and whether these variations may be related to the changes in lung cancer histology over the last decades.
More research is needed to evaluate if changes in tobacco products and increased exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines may be related to the increased incidence rates of adenocarcinoma of the lung.
Data are needed on the health effects of smoking among women in the developing world.
The evidence to date has suggested that more similarities than differences exist between women and men in the factors that influence smoking initiation, addiction, and smoking cessation. When differences in smoking history are taken into account, health consequences also are generally similar.
Researchers are strongly encouraged to use existing data sets to examine results by gender and to do so in future studies. Where these additional analyses suggest important gender differences, more research is needed to focus on the development of interventions tailored to the special needs of girls and women.
As new "reduced-risk" tobacco products are marketed in the future, it will also be important to learn whether gender differences exist in the appeal and use of such products, as well as the health consequences of their use.
Source: Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General—2001 |
