For some time now, it has been thought that women are more likely to get lung cancer from smoking than men. Recently the National Cancer Institute has released a study where 450,000 people were examined and no difference was found between the genders.
The smoking habits, diet, exercise and alcohol use for 279, 214 men and 184, 623 women between the ages of 50 and 71 from eight states were examined. After which lung cancer rates were looked, where it was found that there was only a 0.9% difference in risk between men and women.
Those individuals who smoke more than 2 packs a day were 50 times more likely to develop lung cancer.
Because the study was quite large Dr Neal Freedman, the leader of the research team, said the results were quite reliable. He said, "Our findings suggest that women are not more susceptible than men to the carcinogenic effects of cigarette smoking in the lung." He went on to say, "Vigorous efforts should continue to be directed at eliminating smoking in both sexes."
So it looks like women can worry a bit less, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't consider quitting.
[Via: BBC]
