Post-Menopause Cancer Risk
Additionally, the US National Cancer Institute claims that women smokers are 19% more susceptible to develop breast cancer after menopause than women who don’t smoke after menopause.
It won’t be news to anyone that these statistics are alongside the risk factors that affect anyone who smokes — an increased risk of heart disease, cancers, stroke and death. It really does give pause for thought.
The good news is that giving up smoking before the age of 40 can completely negate these risks, while giving up by 50 can give you back six years. Even quitting at 60 could gain you four years. It doesn’t sound long — until you consider what you could do in that time and how much better you might feel after quitting.
Premature Aging
If the threat of hot flashes, cancer and an early menopause aren’t enough to encourage you to put down the packet of cigarettes, let me appeal to your vanity.
Going into menopause may precipitate an increase wrinkles for many women as the change in hormones can lead to a change in skin type, drying it out or conversely leading to oily skin with teenage-type breakouts!
Meanwhile, smoking is renowned for making wrinkles worse just from the expressions people pull while smoking — pursing lips to inhale and squinting to avoid the smoke. In addition, wrinkles can appear sooner or be more noticeable in smokers as many of the thousands of chemicals that make up cigarettes damage collagen, which helps keep skin firm, strong and elastic.
Bring together the combined effects of smoking and menopause and you could be left looking many years older than your non-smoking peers with deep wrinkles which no amount of face cream will fix.
Counting the Cost
Still not convinced? If the thought of poor health, tortoise-like skin, and the prospect of a potentially early grave aren’t enough to convince you to quit, let’s talk about cold hard cash. Putting all other arguments aside, it’s a fact that smoking is an expensive habit — with the cost of cigarettes rising each year how long can your purse take the strain?
Take a few minutes and work out exactly what you spend on your habit each day, week, month and year. Then look at that figure and work out what else you might be able to spend that money on. New furniture to replace yours which is possibly stained and smelly from smoke? A nice break away? A new car, TV, clothes? The possibilities are endless.
Entering menopause can lead to depression, feelings of low self-worth and often women complain of feeling older than their years, “past it” or frumpy.
Do yourself a favor — quit smoking and treat yourself to a new wardrobe, or membership to a gym or something the whole family can enjoy and I guarantee you will feel better in the long run.
