HHS HealthBeat (February 10, 2006)

Smoking and breast cancer

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Think smoking as a young woman is relatively risk-free? Think again.

A study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that women who smoked before pregnancy were 20 percent more likely to develop breast cancer later in life than women who never smoked, or who started smoking after their first child.

Mayo Clinic Rochester researcher Janet Olson:

"This study would suggest that breast cancer prevention needs to start in adolescence, when young women are making decisions about whether to start smoking cigarettes." (nine seconds)

The research supported by the National Institutes of Health used data from an Iowa Women’s Health Study that sampled more than 41,000 women aged 55 to 69.

The findings are consistent with other studies linking smoking to increased risk of breast cancer.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 15 2006