The higher the Career, Women Smoking More Often

Jakarta, once synonymous with smoking men, but now many women who also smoke. Known to the higher career owned by a woman, then the number of cigarettes smoked more and more.

The researchers revealed that millions of women in developing countries at risk of illness and premature death in coming decades because of increased economic and political status are encouraged to smoke more.

An analysis conducted in 74 countries to find a man 5 times more likely to smoke than women who are in countries with low levels of female empowerment such as China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uganda.

But in countries with relatively high female empowerment such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden and the United States, the gap is so small and women smoke almost as much as men.

"In many countries the tobacco epidemic is still in its infancy, but is expected to worsen. Required authority to act quickly to curb an increase in smoking among women, especially in poor countries," said Douglas Bettcher, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco free initiative , as quoted by Reuters on Monday (27/02/2012).

Bettcher said that tobacco control measures such strong restrictions on tobacco advertising. This is necessary because tobacco kills up to half the users who became one of the world's biggest public health threats.

The experts said deaths per year related to tobacco more than 5 million people, but could rise to 8 million by 2030 if no action is taken to control tobacco.

The study estimated 5 times more men smoke than women in the world, but the ratio of women and men who smoke varies drastically.

"The government should look more closely at ways of utilizing the tobacco industry to target women for social change, such as marketing cigarettes to women as a symbol of emancipation," said Sara Hitchman, co-author.

Increased number of women smokers is because some of them think smoking can keep their bodies trim so it is more interesting because it is not so fond of eating. And that's the wrong idea, because smoking makes skin dry, dull, accelerates the onset of wrinkles that made her unattractive.

In addition smoking can also affect reproductive health and fertility that makes it so difficult to get pregnant. If this habit is carried over until she got pregnant, it could endanger the health of the fetus.