A recently released study shows that women who are heavy or habitual smokers are more likely to experience the menopause earlier. And toxins in tobacco can overall reproductive health.
The report, involving 79,000 women, showed those who smoked from the age of 15 went through the menopause on average 21 months earlier, the BBC reported.
Comparing smokers with women who had never smoked, researchers found those who said they smoked heavily (more than 25 cigarettes a day) were likely to have faced the menopause 18 months earlier than non-smokers.
And non-smokers who had experienced many years of exposure to passive smoke – for example living with indoor smokers – went through the menopause earlier than non-smokers who were not around tobacco.
Scientists say the findings stood true even when alcohol use, educational backgrounds, oral contraceptive prescriptions and ethnicity were taken into account.
They suggest toxins in tobacco may play a role by disrupting key reproductive hormones, including oestrogen.
And though they cannot be certain of the long-term health consequences of these findings, they point out that previous studies have linked earlier menopause to a risk of earlier death.
And, in another study, researchers at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital have discovered that toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke can prematurely trigger the genetic signals that cause a woman’s egg cells to die and her ovaries to shut down, the Daily Mail reported.
These latest findings add to the growing list of illnesses attributed to smoking – like lung cancer, heart disease, circulatory problems and emphysema.
And several organisations, including the NHS, are strongly urging that people quit smoking as it is proven unhealthy.
From nicotine patches to vaping as a substitute, there are many ways to quit smoking. But the method with the highest success rate in quitting is hypnotherapy and the National Council of Hypnotherapy (NCH) has more than 1800 therapists on its directory who can help women beat the habit.
Smoking is a habit or addiction which can be overcome. The NCH says a habit or addiction is something which makes a person feel out of control and which can affect the lives of others too.
“The good news is that you are in control, you can change how you react to certain situations, and you can protect yourself in ways that are healthy and which allow you succeed and grow stronger in body and mind. You just need to know how to change it, and to believe you can,” says the NCH.
Hypnotherapy works directly with the subconscious, bypassing the critical mind and getting to the root of the issue so that lasting changes can be made.
A physical addiction to cigarettes can be over after just one week with hypnotherapy and research shows that quitting with hypnosis makes a smoker three times more likely to quit than by using nicotine patches.