Women's Unique Smoking Cessation Needs

ByABC News
June 22, 2001, 1:29 PM

July 5 -- There are no buts, but plenty of butts, about it: Quitting smoking is difficult, especially for women.

A variety of gender-specific factors make it difficult for women to quit, according to Dr. Kenneth Perkins, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. They include:

Nicotine replacement therapy may not be as effective for women.

Women smokers are more fearful than men of gaining weight.

A woman's menstrual cycle may affect withdrawal symptoms.

Husbands may be less supportive to women trying to quit than wives are of husbands.

So what's a woman to do?

Don't give up, say experts.

You Can Quit

Half of all people (including women) who have ever smoked have quit not necessarily after the first time they tried but eventually, according to Dr. Michele Bloch, medical officer in the Tobacco Control Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute.

While 90 percent of women (and men) try to quit without help from professionals, the success rate can triple when they get some sort of counseling or medical intervention.

Without help, only 5 percent to 10 percent of people will stop smoking for a year. With help, the rate goes up to 20 percent to 30 percent.

Some data suggest women may have more difficulty quitting than men, according to David Wetter, associate professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Behavioral Modification and Medical Intervention

Women should seek professional advice when they decide to quit because it improves the likelihood they will successfully stop.

The most effective methods to quit smoking include behavioral change, counseling/social support and drug treatment, such as nicotine replacement and the antidepressant buproprion, according to a U.S. surgeon general's report issued last June after extensive research.

Counseling and social support can include asking a family member or friend to be there for you when you feel an urge to smoke, calling state telephone quit lines (several states offer counseling services on the phone to help people quit), joining groups or seeing a health-care professional or smoking cessation specialist for more intensive therapy.