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Unfortunately, if you're female, sucking down the ciggies might cause worse physical complications than our male counterparts. A recent study presented by the American Thoracic Society's annual meeting found that women developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at an earlier age - and after fewer years of smoking than men.
Previous studies on lung cancer also suggest cigarette smoking will cause lung cancer in women more often than in men, even if they smoke less and don't start until they're much older. The researchers are looking at hormones - specifically estrogen - as a possible cause of this increased risk.
"Many people believe that their own smoking is too limited to be harmful -- that a few cigarettes a day represent a minimal risk," said Dr. Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, co-author of the latest study and a research fellow at the Channing Laboratory, a division of Brigham and Young Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "But there is no such thing as a safe amount of cigarette smoking. Our data suggest that this is particularly true for female smokers."
Looks like your "but I only smoke once a day/when I'm drinking/around other smokers" excuse is bologna.
So if you're a part of the one-half of the population that has boobs, you're pretty much out of luck no matter what. Your best bet is to just quit, dontcha think?
