Action on Smoking and Health A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions    Search  | Info About  | ash.org | To Join |  Email Page

Excerpts from:Quitting Cigarettes May Be Harder for  Women

  By Keith Mulvihill [05/03/01] Quitting Cigarettes May Be Harder for Women

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women may have a tougher time
  kicking their smoking habits compared with men, according to a
  Pennsylvania researcher.

  In general, women are more concerned than men about possible weight
  gain and women are more likely than men to have a history of major
  depression, which is related to poor success rates for quitting, explained
  study author Dr. Kenneth A. Perkins of the University of Pittsburgh
  School of Medicine. What's more, women may get less support from their
  partners when it comes time to quit.

  Perkins reviewed past studies that examined the success rates of various
  methods devised to help people quit smoking. He found that women
  seemed to have a harder time quitting the habit, according to a report in
  the May issue of the journal CNS Drugs. The study findings suggest that
  women may be more sensitive to ``smoking cues'' and less vulnerable to
  the actual chemical addition to nicotine.

  Smoking cues are those times and places that can trigger a craving for
  cigarettes, such as drinking a cup of coffee, feeling stressed out or seeing
  other people light up.

 Nevertheless, Perkins pointed out that smoking cues are likely to be a
  person's greatest downfall when it comes to succeeding in their quest for
  quitting.

  ``Cues are what make any smoker want to smoke, especially if they
  recently quit,'' he said. ``Most people relapse well after the withdrawal
  phase of quitting, which occurs within the first week or two, and most
  relapses occur many months later.''

  Perkins found that some smoking cessation techniques are more
  successful in men than in women.

  It appears that nicotine replacement systems such as the gum or the patch
  may be less effective in women than men, ``and many studies confirm
  this,'' he noted.

  SOURCE: CNS Drugs 2001;15:391-411.