Stop smoking is difficult, but according to science the difficulty is not the same for everyone: apparently, land women work harder than menthe. This is revealed by research conducted at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto (Canada), presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC) in 2019.
According to the study, women have the half the chance to quit smoking than men.
We know that smoking (especially tobacco cigarette smoking) is an addictive disorder and that a lifetime smoker has a chance of 50% of dying from smoking. In addition, he will lose 10 years of life on average. And just under half of smokers will continue to smoke until they die. Let’s find out why this research can be useful to better combat the need to quit smoking.
Women and smoke, because it’s harder to quit
The analysis conducted in Canada is retrospective and included 233 patients with an average age of 56 who attended the clinic at least twice between 2008 and 2018. Participants received personalized medical advice and, if necessary, prescription of medications, such as nicotine replacement therapy or other products according to the patient’s preferences and contraindications.Participants reported smoking on average 18 cigarettes a day for 37 years. Two-thirds (66 percent) had dyslipidemia, 66 percent had hypertension, 44 percent had coronary artery disease, and 28 percent had depression or anxiety. 35% of the research participants were female.
After six months of treatments, 25% had quit smoking and 29% had cut their daily number of cigarettes by more than half. The study identified some interesting aspects of smoking cessation, the main one being the gender of smokers.
“In our study, women had a higher prevalence of anxiety or depression compared to men (41% versus 21%, respectively), who potentially disturbed the smoking cessation process,” explains Dr. Carolina Gonzaga Carvalho, author of the study.
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Quit smoking with effective programs
Why women have a harder time give up cigarettes? The issue needs to be investigated in depth but there are some clues: one is the cheapness of drugs, which has been a barrier to success in quitting smoking. But according to the researchers, there are also hormonal or social factors that need to be taken into consideration to develop gender-differentiated therapies in anti-smoking treatments.
We know that Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of ‘preventable’ death worldwide. Several smoking cessation programs help people quit, but few studies have evaluated their effectiveness in certain populations. Yet it seems that the female gender and the accessibility of medicines are key elements in success.
Another thing that is evident from the research is that quitting smoking is easier with clinical help. Adhering to a smoking cessation program, in which individual needs are assessed on a case-by-case basis, is the best solution, and should be implemented immediately, Canadian scientists explain.
Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV
>> READ ALSO: How to keep fit at home
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