The American Cancer Society has reported research showing a direct link between smoking during teen years and breast cancer in later life. The original study, printed in the British journal The Lancet, found that the risk for breast cancer was nearly doubled in women who started smoking within five years of their first menstrual cycle.
Smoking has long been known to be a major cause of lung cancer in women of all ages. This study adds to the risks and dangers already well documented.
Breakthrough Study
Previous studies were not able to show significant links between smoking and breast cancer, but this one targeted women who had not yet reached menopause. Those women who smoked during adolescence had an 80 percent increased of getting breast cancer by age 50.
Why Are Younger Women Susceptible?
- Teenage breast tissue is still developing. This makes it more susceptible to the cancer-causing effects of the chemicals (carcinogens) in smoke.
- The estrogen level in premenopausal women is so high, that smoking is unlikely to affect it much. This means that the anti-estrogen effect of smoking, which is important in postmenopausal women, has no effect in these younger women.
- More cigarettes per day and more years of smoking leads to a higher chance of breast cancer.
What to Do
With high cancer risk for both lung and breast cancer, smoking appears to be more dangerous than previous evidence had already shown. Stopping smoking and keeping teenage girls from starting to smoke is even more important than most health professionals had previously determined.
Stop smoking.
Don't smoke.
Encourage your children not to smoke.
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