Women and COPD: Reducing Your Risk with E Cigs

The rise of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, continues to spur in-depth studies and clinical research toward the development of an eventual cure. With these studies comes updated information regarding the number of people currently suffering from the debilitating disease as well as figures concerning deaths across the UK. From its first symptoms in the form of chronic coughing, wheezing and tightness in the chest to more severe complications like unhealthy weight loss and inability to draw breath into the lungs, COPD is a serious illness that can be prevented.

According to recent reports, women are 37 percent more likely than men to develop COPD. This is due to a number of factors, as smaller lung size and narrower airways in women play key roles in the way this disease evolves, as do smoking habits among female test subjects and males. First, studies have shown that women typically inhale more deeply than their male counterparts, holding their breath and cigarette smoke within the lungs for a longer period of time. Secondly, due to the presence of estrogen, nicotine is absorbed and broken down more rapidly within the female body. Deeper and more frequent drags are needed to achieve the same experience as a man would, leaving an inevitable build-up of harmful cigarette additives within the lungs and damaging tissue.

It is a well-known fact among medical professionals that cigarette smoking is the primary cause of COPD in both men and women. While air pollution and exposure to hazardous chemicals on the job can also play a role, smoking is the key-dominating factor observed in the majority of fatal cases. COPD is the third leading cause of death in the UK, falling just behind cancer and heart disease on the list of medical conditions responsible for adult deaths. Studies and national surveys have shown that more than half of COPD deaths are attributable to women and that those numbers only continue to increase.

In light of the fact that tobacco cigarettes have been repeatedly proven to result in so many health issues, today’s market is brimming with options that assist in smoking cessation. Men and women seeking a way to quit smoking cigarettes have numerous options available to them, including everything from nicotine gum and patches to prescription medications. 

Doing their part to offer smokers an acceptable alternative to tobacco, electronic cigarette companies produce nicotine-delivery devices that answer the craving for a smoke without the thousands of dangerous chemicals or toxins found in tobacco cigarettes. Though the clinical studies needed to definitively prove the safety of electronic cigarettes have yet to be conducted, the absence of hundreds of known poisons is a strong factor in their defence.