Smoking Deaths Now Equal in Women and Men

In one national survey, the rate of all-cause mortality was three times higher for smokers than for nonsmokers, with a hazard ratio of 2.8 (95% CI 2.4 to 3.1) for men and 3 (95% CI 2.7 to 3.3) for women, according to Prabhat Jha, MD, of the Center for Global Health Research in Toronto, and colleagues. In a second study, the relative risk of death from any cause among a contemporary cohort of smokers was 2.80 (95% CI 2.72 to 2.88) for men and 2.76 (95% CI 2.69 to 2.84) for women, reported Michael J. Thun, MD, of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues.  Comment: this outcome is not surprising to any of us who study epidemiology.  Women have not resisted the urge to smoke as much as men cut who reduce their smoking incidence while women have tended to increase.  I hope All Virginia Slims is proud of themselves.

Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 27, 2013 Category: Epidemiologists Authors: cbuttery Tags: behavioral change Chronic Disease Community Health epidemiology Prevention Surveillance Source Type: blogs