Women Who Smoke At Any Stage Of Their Lives ‘Are More Likely To Get Breast Cancer’

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Women who have smoked are at greater risk of developing breast cancer in later life – even if they gave up the habit decades earlier.

According to a study, women are 16 per cent more likely to suffer from the disease after the menopause – when most cases are diagnosed – if they smoke.

The earlier a woman starts smoking, the greater her risk, and it remains high for 20 years after she has given up.

Hooked To The Deadly Stuff
Overall, if she has smoked she is 9 per cent more likely to develop the disease, according to the U.S. research.

The study also suggests that decades of passive smoking increases the risk of breast cancer by 32 per cent, particularly if the exposure occurred during childhood.

Around 46,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year, and one in eight British women will develop the disease during their lifetime.

Researchers led by Dr Juhua Luo from West Virginia University and Dr Karen Margolis from the HealthPartners Research Foundation in Minneapolis studied data collected between 1993 and 1998 from a sample of almost 80,000 women aged 50 to 79.


A Mammogram Check Up    May Be Necessary Even For Ex-Smokers!

During a ten-year follow-up study, they identified 3,250 cases of invasive breast cancer among the participants.

The women were asked a range of questions about their smoking status and their exposure to passive smoking.

The results of the study, published on BMJ.com, reveal that smokers have a 16 per cent increased risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause. The increased risk for former smokers is 9 per cent.

Smoking link: Around 46,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year, and one in eight British women will develop the disease during their lifetime

The highest breast cancer risk was found among women who had smoked for 50 years or more.

Those who started smoking as teenagers were also at high risk.
And the study suggests a 32 per cent raised risk among non-smoking women exposed to extensive passive smoking.

Dr Margolis said: ‘Our findings highlight the need for interventions to prevent initiation of smoking, especially at an early age.’

Dr Rachel Greig, Senior Policy Officer at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: ‘The study suggests the earlier you start smoking and the longer you continue to do so, the higher your chance of developing breast cancer.

 We encourage all women not to smoke.’
SOURCE

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

Were You Once A Smoker? Or Spent Time Regularly With A Smoker, Or In An Environment Where People Or Someone Smoked Often? You May Consider Undertaking A Mammogram Check Up   

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