lower estrogen levels
the bottom line
Smoking lowers the level of estrogen in a woman's body. Women who smoke reach menopause (the time during middle age when a woman stops having menstrual cycles) earlier than nonsmoking women do. Reaching menopause early is undesirable because it increases a woman's risk of certain health problems, such as the loss of bone due to osteoporosis. This condition causes the bones to be more likely to break.
for related effects
see sidebar
see sidebar
The American Council on Science and Health is a consumer eduction consortium with a board of 350 physicians, scientists, and policy advisors.
