Smoking Cessation In Women Research Articles

Weight gain after smoking cessation in women: The impact of dieting status

Objective The fear of weight gain appears to be a barrier to quitting in some smokers, particularly in women. However, not all female smokers have the same concerns about weight, and not all quitters are equally susceptible to gaining weight after cessation. We hypothesized that among females, dieters, compared to nondieters, would report more weight gain after smoking cessation and would tend to smoke more for weight control purposes. Method: Undergraduate college students were surveyed to assess their smoking status, dieting status, postcessation weight gain, and their motivations to smoke. Results: Among former smokers, dieters reported considerably more weight gain than nondieters. Dieters were more likely to have started, and to have continued smoking in order to control their weight, and among current smokers, dieters reported having had shorter quit attempts. Discussion: The dieters/former smokers' comparatively high weight gain after smoking cessation is discussed in terms of possible changes in dietary intake, metabolic rate, and physical activity. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 24:53–64, 1998.

Weight gain after smoking cessation in women: the impact of dieting status.

The fear of weight gain appears to be a barrier to quitting in some smokers, particularly in women. However, not all female smokers have the same concerns about weight, and not all quitters are equally susceptible to gaining weight after cessation. We hypothesized that among females, dieters, compared to nondieters, would report more weight gain after smoking cessation and would tend to smoke more for weight control purpose. Undergraduate college students were surveyed to assess their smoking status, dieting status, postcessation weight gain, and their motivations to smoke. Among former smokers, dieters reported considerably more weight gain than nondieters. Dieters were more likely to have started, and to have continued smoking in order to control their weight, and among current smokers, dieters reported having had shorter quit attempts. The dieters/former smokers' comparatively high weight gain after smoking cessation is discussed in terms of possible changes in dietary intake, metabolic rate, and physical activity.

Smoking Cessation in Women

More women are starting to smoke and fewer go on to achieve cessation.Physiological and psychological factors particular to females, as well as socio-economic influences are considered. Positive approaches to the stages of cessation and physician strategies known to be effective are outlined. The use of prescription medications including nicotine replacements, buspirone, seratonin re-uptake inhibators, clonidine, and antidepressants is discussed.

The Impact of Depression on Smoking Cessation in Women

Cigarette smoking poses unique, but preventable health risks to women. Identification of barriers to womens' quitting is essential to tailor interventions accordingly. Major depression, whether historical, current, or subsyndromal, may present unique challenges to women quitting smoking. Although several reviews discuss women and smoking in general, this review focuses exclusively on the role of depression in womens' smoking. The goals of this review are to (1) discuss and synthesize the current findings on the association between smoking and depression in women in general, and in particular subgroups of women (underserved, premenstrual, postpartum, menopausal), (2) discuss physician-assisted, pharmacologic, behavioral interventions for mood management, and (3) propose future avenues for intervention, research, and policy. IMPACT OF DEPRESSION: Major depression may influence smoking cessation in women because (1) depression is twice as common among women as men, (2) history of depression and negative affect have been associated with smoking treatment failure, (3) quitting smoking is especially difficult during certain phases of the reproductive cycle, phases that have also been associated with greater levels of dysphoria, and (4) subgroups of women who have a high risk of continuing to smoke (underserved, less educated, low SES) also have a high risk of developing depression. Since many women who are depressed (or who have developed depression during prior quit attempts) may be less likely to seek formal cessation treatment, practitioners have a unique opportunity to persuade their patients to quit. We discuss patient-treatment matching.

Can physical activity minimize weight gain in women after smoking cessation?

The purpose of this study was to examine prospectively whether exercise can modify weight gain after smoking cessation in women. Data were analyzed from a 2-year follow-up period (1986-1988) in the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing cohort of 121,700 US women aged 40 to 75 in 1986. The average weight gain over 2 years was 3.0 kg in the 1474 women who stopped smoking, and 0.6 kg among the 7832 women who continued smoking. Among women smoking 1 to 24 cigarettes per day, those who quit without changing their levels of exercise gained an average of 2.3 kg more (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9, 2.6) than women who continued smoking. Women who quit and increased exercise by between 8 to 16 MET-hours (the work metabolic rate divided by the resting metabolic rate) per week gained 1.8 kg (95% CI = 1.0, 2.5), and the excess weight gain was only 1.3 kg (95% CI = 0.7, 1.9) in women who increased exercise by more than 16 MET-hours per week. Smoking cessation is associated with a net excess weight gain of about 2.4 kg in middle-aged women. However, this weight gain is minimized if smoking cessation is accompanied by a moderate increase in the level of physical activity.

Smoking Cessation in Women

The purpose of this descriptive exploratory study is to describe the experience of successful smoking cessation in adult women. The convenience sample included 10 women, ages 25 to 42, who had abstained from smoking for at least 6 months but not longer than 3 years. A semistructured interview format was used to elicit descriptions of the experience of successful smoking cessation from these subjects. The interview format explored the experience, including initial contemplation, the process of quitting, and maintenance of smoking abstinence. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and then analyzed using methods outlined by Miles and Huberman [1]. Four themes emerged from the data: evolving commitment to health and personal growth, being stigmatized, changing conceptualization of smoking, and smoking cessation as a relational phenomenon. These findings were consistent with Pender's Health Promotion Model and have implications for nurse practitioners who counsel women on smoking cessation.

Exercise enhances the maintenance of smoking cessation in women

We examined the effects of physical exercise on smoking relapse. Twenty previously sedentary female smokers were randomly assigned to smoking cessation plus exercise or smoking cessation with frequency contact control. The smoking cessation program included 12 professionally led sessions over 12 weeks. Exercise treatment included three supervised exercise sessions per week for 15 weeks. Contact control included three women's health/wellness lectures per week for 15 weeks. Smoking abstinence was validated by carbon monoxide and saliva cotinine. Mean exercise attendance for exercise subjects was 88% with an increase in estimated VO 2 of 25%. The percentage of subjects who quit for 24 hours was 80% for the exercise and 90% for the contact group. One subject in the contact group remained abstinent at the end of the 12-week treatment and at 1-, 3-, and 12-month follow-ups, whereas three subjects in the exercise group were abstinent at these time points. These results suggest that exercise training improves short-term quit rates and may prove a useful strategy for long-term maintenance of smoking cessation.

First experiences in women's smoking cessation

First experiences in women's smoking cessation

Smoking cessation in women: effects of the menstrual cycle.

Ten females in the midcycle phase of the menstrual cycle, 10 females in the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle, and 10 males agreed to try and stop smoking for two consecutive days. The Smoking Motivation Questionnaire and Profile of Mood States Questionnaire (POMS) were completed by all subjects beforehand. On each "no smoking" day, the POMS and a Smoking Withdrawal Questionnaire were completed. Males and midcycle females achieved significantly greater smoking reduction than premenstrual females during the "no smoking" days. Premenstrual females reported becoming significantly more tired, confused, depressed, anxious, and irritable than midcycle females. Midcycle females reported only slight changes in feeling state during cigarette withdrawal. The position of the males was broadly intermediate between the two female groups.

Usefulness of physical exercise for maintaining smoking cessation in women

Successful smoking cessation is a problem for many smokers and the 1-year quit ratio among smokers is <1%. 1 Women may have lower cessation and higher relapse rates than men 2 and their risk for developing heart disease and lung cancer has increased significantly in recent years. 3 Physical activity offers a healthful alternative to smoking: it facilitates regulation of body weight, 4 moderates mood changes 5 and improves responses to stress. 6