There are several reasons that could explain the inequality between the sexes when it comes to smoking cessation, at a time when more and more women are suffering from lung cancer.
Less cigarettes, more kilos? To compensate for the lack of nicotine and persist, former smokers start snacking compulsively… with the risk of gaining weight. Among women, “the obsession with staying fit is stronger and tobacco addiction may be more important, especially for this reason,” said Professor Marie-Pierre Revel, head of the radiology department at Cochin hospital and herself a former smoker.
Several elements show that it is more difficult for women to quit smoking than men. First, because of psychological barriers related to physical appearance. Because here’s the truth: quitting smoking often causes weight gain, even if only temporarily.
“Society projects the image of a femme fatale with a cigarette in her hand and a slim figure. Therefore, a smoker does not want to quit, because he wants to maintain that image,” says Loïc Josseran, doctor and public health researcher, professor at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Fewer female smokers than daily smokers
But that’s not all. This stronger addiction can also be explained by hormonal specificities. Several studies have shown that smoking, and more specifically nicotine, reduces estrogen production. However, these hormones work in the brain to regulate mood and stress. Therefore, female smokers who want to quit will be more susceptible to the negative impacts of withdrawal (stress, irritability, etc.).
These difficulties are especially noticeable in the premenstrual period, which is characterized by significant hormonal changes. This is often associated with increased appetite for smoking, more intense withdrawal symptoms, and greater vulnerability to stress, making attempts to quit smoking more difficult.
But more difficult certainly doesn’t mean impossible! In addition, there are fewer female smokers in France: 16% of women now say they light up at least one cigarette every day, compared with 26% in 2015. There are more men: 20% smoke daily, compared with 33% a decade earlier. The gap between the sexes tends to narrow.
