Photo Of The Day

I found this photo this AM the incredibly vague folder in my bookmarks menu called "Links". It ends up being a catchall for things that I want to see again.  Not quite as specific as "Shopping", "News", "Financials" or "Geek" (which is the folder for things related to the websites I manage, as well as important things like "How To Clean your White MacBook").

But I digress....

This image is what I work my heart and soul out for, and can't wait to see on every vending machine, on the counters in every store that sells tobacco and every pack of cigarettes sold in this country.

No Smoking!

Women + Smoking = BAD

Is Smoking Tougher on Women?
Research suggests they're more susceptible to dangers of tobacco

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

Women may be more vulnerable than men to the carcinogens and other noxious substances in cigarette smoke, a growing body of research suggests.

In one study of nearly 700 people with lung cancer, Swiss experts found that women tended to be younger when they received the diagnosis, even though they smoked less than the men who developed lung cancer.

In another study, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Bergen in Norway evaluated more than 950 men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), known to be linked to smoking. The result: The women with COPD were younger when they got the diagnosis and had smoked less than the men with the respiratory ailment.

"Maybe women are more susceptible to the lung-damaging effects of smoking," said Dr. Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, a visiting research fellow at Harvard and a researcher at the University of Bergen, who led the COPD study. She presented the findings in May at the American Thoracic Society's annual conference.

In fact, several other studies in the past 20 years have suggested that female smokers may be more susceptible to lung cancer than male smokers.

And Soerheim and her colleague, Dr. Dawn L. DeMeo, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found that, in 2000, the number of women dying from COPD surpassed the number of men, although the researchers aren't sure why....

 

More evidence that smoking is worse for women than men

Smoking Packs a Tougher Wallop for Women: Research suggests greater female susceptibility to carcinogens

"Women may be more vulnerable than men to cancer-causing ingredients in cigarettes, according to a new study ... Swiss researchers found that female patients tended to be younger when they developed the disease, even though they tended to smoke significantly fewer cigarettes than men ... The results add to growing evidence that smoking poses greater health risks to women than men ..."

Considering the number of young women that insist that they are "just social smokers" (i.e. they end up smoking much fewer cigarettes than their male counterparts), and the fact that the tobacco industry knows that women are so eager to smoke in order to conform to social norms, this study both infuriates and depresses me.

.....

In other news: I think Mother's Day was a success. The weekend was delightful overall (even though the Caps lost to the Pens - an extremely frustrating game to see in person!) and it would have been lovely if the beautiful weather could have continued. Although I'm not sure if I would be any more bright-eyed and busy-tailed at work this AM if it were bright and sunny...

My 30th birthday is approaching, with more speed than I realized. But considering that I'm more excited than depressed about this event, I suspect I won't write much about it here until after I've celebrated this milestone. Some people say it's lame and/or uncooth to throw yourself a birthday party; but I say "If I don't throw a party for myself, who will?" So arrangements are being made, friends are coming from various locales to join me, and I expect a grand time will be had by all!

Shoes and Smoking

I wrote an entry last week about the interesting choices that DC women make in footwear during icy weather, but I didn't put it online -- partially from being swamped at work, but also because the weather has been delightfully spring-like for several days now, which made my thoughts (temporarily) irrelevant. But when the weather changes again in a few days, I'm sure the rain boots and Uggs will come out once more, which will provide me with a chance to share those particular musings.

In the meantime, I am fascinated with this article from the American Journal of Epidemiology, about a potential correlation between smoking and HPV:

Is Smoking an Independent Risk Factor for Invasive Cervical Cancer?

The strong correlation between smoking and exposure to oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs) has made it difficult to verify the independent role of smoking in cervical carcinogenesis. .... The point estimates increased with increasing age at diagnosis and increasing cotinine level. This study confirms that smoking is an independent risk factor for cervical cancer/SCC in women infected with oncogenic HPVs. These findings emphasize the importance of cervical cancer prevention among women exposed to tobacco smoke.

Evidence that demonstrates the negative consequences of smoking just keep piling up. And when I see how tobacco uniquely effects women, I get more anxious for my friends who smoke. And angry at the tobacco companies ... but I won't go down that route just now.

Big Tobacco's Spin on Women's Liberation

"Why do nearly one-fifth of women in America smoke? The answer goes back to an event almost 80 years ago on Fifth Avenue, which is often regarded as one of the most successful P.R. stunts in American history...." (the title of this post has the link to the whole article; I encourage you to read more)

Yet another article that I find fascinating, not only because of it's connection to my daily work, but it's pretty much what my Masters thesis was about. The manipulation of women by our society, that results in their smoke cigarettes in order to conform to an ideal, which ultimately results in making themselves subordinate to men...!!!

Okay, I'm done. (For now.)


And now for something completely, fashionably different, I would like to present the two dresses I've recently purchased:

another reason not to smoke, ladies

Cigarette Smoking and the Development of Premenstrual Syndrome

Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson, Susan E. Hankinson, Susan R. Johnson, and JoAnn E. Manson
American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published on August 13, 2008

Smoking at various ages was assessed by questionnaires. After adjustment for oral contraceptives and other factors, current smokers were 2.1 times as likely as never smokers to develop PMS over the next 2–4 years.... Results suggest that smoking, especially in adolescence and young adulthood, may increase risk of moderate to severe PMS. These findings may provide an additional incentive for young women to avoid cigarette smoking.

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Why does this fascinate me? Well, since you asked... I was a women's studies minor (so close to a double major) in college; my Masters thesis was focused on women and smoking; and a great deal of my work has to do with tobacco control and cessation. "The time of the month" can be unpleasant, so why make it worse?

And now, from feminism to fashion.. it's time for something completely different...

The Diane von Furstenburg dress that I am craving at the moment: