Smoking and women health

Nonsmoking women who use oral contraceptives ("the Pill") double their chances of having a heart attack. However, when women use the Pill and smoke, they are 10 times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmoking women who don't take the Pill. Women who smoke and use the Pill have an increased risk of stroke and blood clots in the legs as well. Women who smoke also run the risk of having trouble getting pregnant; the more they smoke, the more likely it is that they will have difficulty. Some studies show that female smokers, espe­cially the elderly, are at a higher risk for osteoporosis (a disease that weakens the bones and makes them more likely to break) than nonsmoking women. In addition, women who smoke in­crease their chances of getting cancer of the uterine cervix.