They analyzed data from a Norwegian case-control study including 954 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and all were current- or ex-smokers, and the COPD subjects had moderate or severe COPD.

It has long been suspected that the effect of smoking on lung function may be modified by gender. Interaction analysis confirmed that being female represents a higher risk of reduced lung function and severe COPD, but this gender effect was most pronounced when the level of smoking exposure was low. The reason why women are more susceptible to the effects of cigarette smoke is not quite clearly understood, however the possible reasons may be because of the smaller airways; therefore each cigarette may do more harm. Also, there are gender differences in the metabolism of cigarette smoke. Genes and hormones could also be important.

Many women believe that their own smoking is too limited to be harmful–that a few cigarettes a day causes only a minimal risk. However, in the low exposure group in this study, half of the women actually had severe COPD. Clearly, there is no such thing as a safe exposure to cigarette smoke.

Everyone knows the dangers of tobacco smoke, but until recently experts believed the danger to be equal for men and women. Now new research is showing that the effects of smoking cigarettes are different for women. It appears that the cancer causing agents in cigarettes may be more dangerous to women than men, according to a new Swiss study.

The researchers noticed that female patients tended to be younger when they were diagnosed, which seemed strange since these women hadn’t had the time to smoke the same number of cigarettes as the male patients in the study. Thus the findings suggest that women may have an increased susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens.

Lung cancer was once a disease almost unheard of in women, but since the 1960s, the rates have been climbing steadily. Today lung cancer has claimed the title of leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. women.

The highest rates of cigarette smoking were among American Indian and native Alaskan women, followed closely by whites, African Americans, Hispanics and lastly Asian women.

Surveys have found that smoking is more popular among less educated, younger women who almost always start as teens. Therefore it is important that people should stop smoking at the earliest and especially women who are prone to lung cancer risk.