Tabacco is a known carcinogen. Smoking causes disease, ill health and can cut your life short. It harms nearly every organ of the body and puts the health of non-smokers of all ages at risk. Smoking also causes several cancers, heart disease, stroke, lung disease and other health conditions.
Quitting smoking significantly reduces those health risks—and offers immediate health benefits. If you’ve tried quitting, you will know that it isn’t easy. In this section, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation hopes to inform you with facts and offer practical suggestions to help you make the decision to quit and then act on that decision.
Smoking and breast cancer risk
If you needed yet another reason to butt out, here it is: both active smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke, sometimes referred to as passive smoke, are proven to increase your risk of developing breast cancer.
In 2009, the Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco Smoke and Breast Cancer Risk concluded that active smoking increases the risk of breast cancer. They also concluded that girls and younger women exposed to second-hand smoke were at increased risk of breast cancer, especially when exposed to second-hand smoke during adolescence. More research is needed to confirm how second-hand smoke affects older and postmenopausal women.
Why are girls and young women particularly vulnerable to second-hand smoke? Tobacco smoke may affect breast tissue differently depending on your age and stage of breast development. Because adolescence is a period of rapid development for the breasts, breast tissue may be more susceptible to cancer-causing agents during this time.
Areas of the body not directly in contact with tobacco can still be affected by it. For example, nicotine and the thousands of other toxins present in cigarettes have been found in the breast fluids of non-lactating women who are smokers.
Consuming alcohol also increases your risk of breast and other cancers. If you smoke and also drink alcohol, your risk is increased further.
Be a quitter
By quitting smoking, you reduce your risk of developing breast cancer and help to improve your overall health. Quitting smoking sounds like simple advice—but "simple" doesn't mean "easy."
In fact, research suggests that women may have a harder time quitting smoking than men do. We may be more concerned about weight gain or may be more affected by physical and emotional cues that trigger tobacco cravings. Fortunately, we do also tend to care more about our health and well-being and actively seek out ways to improve it.
Find what works best for you. Some women try to quit smoking several times before they are successful and able to quit for life. Don’t give up. You may wish to consider speaking to a health care provider about safe and effective ways to quit smoking. Quitting smoking is a big step. You don't need to do it alone: there are a variety of supports available to help you.
Other reasons not to smoke
For women of all ages there are many benefits to not smoking, in addition to reduced breast cancer risk. Smoking is associated with a higher risk of other diseases and chronic conditions, such as heart disease, lung cancer and other cancers. By quitting smoking, reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke, or eliminating your exposure to second-hand smoke you can help to improve your circulation, blood pressure, lung function and reproductive health.
More Information
Sources
Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Women and smoking cessation. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Collishaw, N.E. et al. (April 2009). Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco Smoke and Breast Cancer Risk. : Toronto, Canada: Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, OTRU Special Report Series. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Health Canada. Smoking and your body. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Heart & Stroke Foundation. Smoking, heart disease and stroke. Accessed July 31, 2011.
National Cancer Institute. Harms of smoking and health benefits of quitting. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2010). Environmental Tobacco Smoke. In Chronic Diseases in Canada, Vol 29, Supplement 2. Accessed July 31, 2011.