ABSTRACT
Although current estimates of the incidence of smoking among women vary considerably from country to country, in the U.S. about 35% of the female population of childbearing age smoke. The average woman smokes about 9.5 cigarettes a day. About 20 to 25% of all pregnant women in the U.S. smoke during pregnancy, although some estimates place the incidence as high as 50%. Although female smoking habits differ from male habits, e.g., women tend not to smoke as far down on cigarettes where most tar and nicotine are inhaled, they tend not to inhale as deeply, they tend to prefer low tar and nicotine brands, and they tend to prefer filter cigarettes, all of which reduce tar and nicotine consumption somewhat, there has been an approximately fourfold increase in lung cancer mortality rates among white females in the U.S. between 1950 and 1976. Current projections indicate that lung cancer will emerge as the leading cause of death from cancer among women in the 1980s. If the incidence in lung cancer can be taken as a rough index of smoking prevalence, these data suggest a dramatic increase in smoking among women.
