According to the Los Angeles Times millions of women in developing countries risk disease and early death in the coming decades as their rising economic and political status leads them to smoke more, researchers said on Tuesday.
An analysis in 74 countries found that men are five times more likely to smoke than women in countries with lower rates of female empowerment, such as China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uganda.
In countries with relatively high female empowerment, such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden and the United States, this gap is small and women smoke almost as much as men do.
Douglas Bettcher, director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) tobacco free initiative, said the findings showed the need for authorities to act quickly to curb smoking rates among women, particularly in poorer countries.
“The tobacco epidemic is still in its early stages in many countries but is expected to worsen,” he said in a statement with the study, which was published in the WHO journal Bulletin.
Fortunately, Southern California has a rather low rate of smokers. Dr. O’Toole explains the risk of smoking and surgical complications to patients considering plastic surgery. The increased risks include delayed healing as well as increased risk for blood clots. The best case scenario is for patients to quit smoking at least a minimum of four weeks prior to surgery. It is also important that they do not smoke during recovery for at least four weeks. This is especially important with procedures like abdominoplasty, and facelift. These procedures use incisions that when sutured together are intended to pull the skin tightly. In smokers, this can be a problem causing delayed healing. Minimizing the risk for smokers is very important for a positive patient experience.
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