Women Who Smoke While Using Hormonal Birth Control Are Gambling With Their Health

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 02 Apr 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Smoking while on birth control containing hormones like The Pill, Patch or Ring may increase the risk of serious health problems, such as blood clots, stroke and heart attack. A recent survey reveals that eight out of ten women smokers continued to do so even though they were aware of the risks associated with this behavior.1

Survey Highlights:

- Ninety percent of women who smoke said they were aware of these risks2, yet 88 percent of women who have smoked while using hormonal birth control continued to do so despite these risks.3

- Almost half of women who smoke reported that they have not had a conversation with their healthcare providers about the risks of smoking while on hormonal birth control.4

- Nearly 60 percent of the women surveyed were not aware that there is a safe and highly effective, non-hormonal, birth control option available as an alternative for women smokers.5

- Seventy-eight percent of women who currently smoke describe themselves as heavy smokers (more than one pack per week), while 14 percent say they are moderate smokers (less than one pack per week) and only 8 percent say they are light/social smokers (less than one pack per month).6

"These numbers are absolutely alarming to me," says Winnie King, MD, Emergency Room Physician at Memorial Hermann Hospital and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas. "I tell my patients, don't smoke, period. However, if you do, don't take the risk of jeopardizing your health further by taking hormonal birth control."

To read the entire release and view the video, click here.

1-6 Online Survey "A Study Among Women Smokers About Hormonal Contraceptive Usage." Conducted by Synovate Health Care, November 2007

Memorial Hermann Hospital