Impact of new smoking trends on women's occupational health

Health problems and needs of females, particularly of working women, are discussed in relation to cigarette smoking and its effects. Problems encountered by working women with regard to understanding and knowledge of health risks are examined, as well as specific diseases and occupations presenting major health problems to the female worker. Smoking is shown to exert effects on females similar to those it exerts on males with regard to those cancers which are generally related to tobacco use. Various occupational exposures such as exposure to asbestos, known to act in synergism with tobacco as a carcinogen, are presented as hazards to the working woman. The cancer-promoting effect of alcohol, in conjunction with smoking, is also mentioned. Heart disease is another health problem which will be confronted by both the working and/or smoking woman, as it is by males. In addition, other occupations formerly thought of as “benevolent”, such as office work, are shown to present health hazards. It is concluded that more and greater health hazards will be faced by women, especially as they smoke more and take on more jobs that were traditionally filled by men. Closer monitoring and assessing of health status of women in the work force is called for to ensure that conditions in the workplace are not detriments to good health. Epidemiologic variables suggested for inclusion in future occupational health studies are presented

Tobacco Usage in France: An Epidemiological Study

A survey of tobacco and alcohol consumption was conducted among 3,453 noninstitutionalized men and women in 65 départements in France. Over four-fifths of the men and half of the women surveyed had smoked cigarettes. Men were far more likely than women to have stopped smoking, especially older men in higher social classes. Fifty-five percent of the men smoked cigarettes made with black tobacco (Gauloises, Gitanes), while women preferred blond tobacco products. Younger smokers of both sexes preferred filtered cigarettes, while older respondents smoked nonfiltered ones. Filter usage among men, but not women, increased with education. Inhalation was more prevalent among men than women, among the young than the old, and among the more educated than the less educated. “Drooping” or carrying a lighted cigarettes in the mouth without inhaling, was a practice more common in older, less educated male smokers. These data also provide some evidence in support of the hypothesis that black tobacco, with its higher pH, provides unprotonated nicotine which is easily absorbed by oral mucosa, thus making deep inhalation of the smoke less important to the smoker. The observed differences between the smoking practices of the French and those in the United States and United Kingdom along with the relatively higher alcohol consumption noted throughout France, may partially explain the lower rates of lung cancer and higher rates of larynx, esophagus, and oral cavity cancer found in French men

A Different Perspective on Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Some Implications of the Nonattributable Risk

Many risk factors for breast cancer are known, but each makes a relatively small contribution to individual risk. Nearly a dozen risk factors taken together accounted for only about 25% of total risk in a population of 570,000 women enrolled in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study I (1959-66). This study was considered path-breaking in 1982. Nevertheless, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer in US women three decades later

Impact of new smoking trends on women's occupational health

Health problems and needs of females, particularly of working women, are discussed in relation to cigarette smoking and its effects. Problems encountered by working women with regard to understanding and knowledge of health risks are examined, as well as specific diseases and occupations presenting major health problems to the female worker. Smoking is shown to exert effects on females similar to those it exerts on males with regard to those cancers which are generally related to tobacco use. Various occupational exposures such as exposure to asbestos, known to act in synergism with tobacco as a carcinogen, are presented as hazards to the working woman. The cancer-promoting effect of alcohol, in conjunction with smoking, is also mentioned. Heart disease is another health problem which will be confronted by both the working and/or smoking woman, as it is by males. In addition, other occupations formerly thought of as “benevolent”, such as office work, are shown to present health hazards. It is concluded that more and greater health hazards will be faced by women, especially as they smoke more and take on more jobs that were traditionally filled by men. Closer monitoring and assessing of health status of women in the work force is called for to ensure that conditions in the workplace are not detriments to good health. Epidemiologic variables suggested for inclusion in future occupational health studies are presented

A Different Perspective on Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Some Implications of the Nonattributable Risk

Many risk factors for breast cancer are known, but each makes a relatively small contribution to individual risk. Nearly a dozen risk factors taken together accounted for only about 25% of total risk in a population of 570,000 women enrolled in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study I (1959-66). This study was considered path-breaking in 1982. Nevertheless, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer in US women three decades later