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The ratio of harm from smoking to the female body is 5:1 compared to the male body
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Italian scientists presented reports at the Paris congress of the European Society of Cardiology on the problem of the harmful effects of smoking and drinking alcohol on the female body, Maria Emilia Bonaccorso reports in an article published on the website of the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
"Tobacco smoke literally hates women: the ratio of harm caused by smoking to the female body compared to the male body is 5:1. These are the results of a study presented by Professor Elena Tremoli from the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at the University of Milan at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Paris. The female body is particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of smoking, regardless of such factors as age, blood pressure, obesity, social status," the publication writes.
"It is known, the professor said, that women are naturally protected from cardiovascular diseases, especially before menopause. For this reason, factors that are detrimental to women's health are given less attention. Meanwhile, 4.3 million people die from cardiovascular diseases every year in Europe, 242,000 of them in Italy, and this figure is becoming increasingly "rosy."
"Another interesting fact. The more educated a man is, the less polluted his arteries are. But this dependence is not observed in women," the author of the article recounts the conclusions of the scientists. "Cardiovascular diseases are the "privilege" of men aged 55-60, then, for some time, equality between the sexes is observed, but at about 75 years of age, the proportions change. This happens, according to Professor Roberto Ferrari, not only because of the weakening of hormonal protection with the onset of menopause, but also because women begin to lead an unhealthy, "masculine" lifestyle: they eat incorrectly and a lot, smoke, and move little."
"The campaign to prevent cardiovascular diseases in women seems to have been lost for now," the journalist writes. "There are more and more women smoking. Women are less determined to give up this bad habit. Smoking and alcohol, according to another study, are costing European women dearly: they live longer than men, but worse," Bonaccorso concludes.