Fact Sheet

Women and Tobacco

(updated November 2006)

Health Effects and Mortality

Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 178,000 women in the United States annually.¹ The three leading smoking–related causes of death in women are lung cancer (45,000), heart disease (40,000), and chronic lung disease (42,000).¹
Ninety percent of all lung cancer deaths in women smokers are attributable to smoking.² Since 1950, lung cancer deaths among women have increased by more than 600 percent. By 1987, lung cancer had surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer–related deaths in women.²
Women who smoke have an increased risk for other cancers, including cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and uterine cervix.² Women who smoke double their risk for developing coronary heart disease and increase by more than tenfold their likelihood of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.^2,3
Cigarette smoking increases the risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).²
Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked.² Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than never smokers.²

National Estimates of Tobacco Use

An estimated 18.1% of adult U.S. women aged 18 years or older (slightly less than 1 of 5) are current cigarette smokers.⁴ Cigarette smoking estimates for women by age are as follows: 18–24 years (20.7%), 25–44 years (21.4%), 45–64 years (18.8%), and 65 years or older (8.3%).⁴
Prevalence of cigarette smoking is highest among women who are American Indians or Alaska Natives (26.8%), followed by whites (20%), African Americans (17.3%), Hispanics (11.1%), and Asians [excluding Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders] (6.1%).⁴
Cigarette smoking estimates are highest for women with a General Educational Development (GED) diploma (38.8%) or 9–11 years of education (29.0%), and lowest for women with an undergraduate college degree (9.6%) or a graduate college degree (7.4%).⁴
Smoking prevalence is higher among women living below the poverty level (26.9%) compared with women living at or above the poverty level (17.6%).⁴
An estimated 18% of pregnant women aged 15–44 years smoke cigarettes, compared with 30% of nonpregnant women of the same age.⁵
The use of cigars and smokeless tobacco among females is generally low—1.9% of females 12 or older are current cigar smokers,⁵ and 0.3% are current smokeless tobacco users.⁵

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking Among Adults—United States, 2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. 2005;54(44):1121–1124 [cited 2006 Nov 6]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5444a2.htm.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2001 [cited 2006 Nov 6]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2001/index.htm
Novotny TE, Giovino, GE. Tobacco Use. In: Brownson RC, Remington PL, Davis JR (eds). Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Control, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 1998;117–148 [cited 2006 Nov 6].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco Use Among Adults—United States, 2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. 2006;55(42):1145–1148 [cited 2006 Nov 6]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5542a1.htm.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, Tobacco Use. (PDF–1.17 MB) Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies; 2005 [cited 2006 Nov 6]. Available from: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nhsda/2k2nsduh/2k2SoFW.pdf.

For Further Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO

Media Inquiries: Contact CDC's Office on Smoking and Health press line at 770-488-5493.

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Page last reviewed 02/28/2007
Page last modified 02/28/2007

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