womem's smoking

India is the largest producer of tobacco after China and America. There are 142 million men and 72 million women above the age of 15 years who consume tobacco; 2,200 persons die every day from tobacco related diseases . People are becoming aware of the ill-effects of smoking in terms of morbidity and mortality.
Woman and the Tobacco Epidemic – Challenges for the 21th Century states that eight percent of women developing countries and above 15% in industrialized countries currently smoke cigarettes. In India, about one-third of women use at least one from of tobacco. Overall prevalence of bidi and cigarette smoking among women is about 3% and 22% women consumers use smoking tobacco.Female smokers are more susceptible to osteoporosis or brittle bones. Also, smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the change of the infant dying of sudden infant death syndrome,delivering a pre-mature baby,delivering a low birth-weight baby.