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THE LEN LESSER REPORT  

THE LEN LESSER REPORT

 

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CANADIAN WOMEN WHO SMOKE HAVE A VERY HIGH RISK OF DYING OF CANCER.

Mom/Dad please, please read this column to your daughter.

It has always amazed me what people do to themselves willingly. Recently I read some very disturbing breast cancer statistic in the Globe and Mail concerning women that scared me.

“Young women who smoke - as well as those who are routinely exposed to second hand smoke-face a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer. Individual women have, on average , a one in seven chance of developing breast cancer. If they smoke, they will have a one-in-seven chance of developing breast cancer. The risk is about the same for passive smoke - particularly for a girl growing up in a house where there is a smoker."

“Research now shows that women who started to smoke within their first five years of menstruation are 70% more likely to develop breast cancer. For the 80% of females who start smoking before the age of twenty their cancer rate is even greater than previously recognized.”

Girls who smoke or are exposed to tobacco smoke during puberty, when their breast tissue is growing, seem to be at increased risk of developing cancer prior to menopause which tends to be more deadly.

The tobacco industry has duped our young women into believing that smoking is a “cool”pastime. Dragging on a cigarette is supposed to provide relaxation and of course a model thin body. The truth is that there are at least twenty known mammary carcinogens in tobacco.

In Ontario, smoking rates among teens 15-19 of age is 25%. This figure has remained steady over the past decade but what has changed is the percentage of young women versus young men. It has basically switched and 26% of teens smoking are female versus 20% of male teens.

“Pregnant women who smoke have a higher rate of miscarriages, (stillbirths), premature birth: more of their babies die soon after birth than those of non-smoking mothers.”

I trust that you have seen enough of the stats? Many of these deaths are preventable. The solution to reducing the death rates from cancer is in prevention. Mom and dad like it or no you are role models to your children: parent’s who smoke set an example for their offspring. Our young people emulate our behaviour.

Education and prevention can help diminish the number of people inflicted with cancer. Folks take a moment and talk to your daughter. Tell her you love her and warn her of the dire consequences of smoking.

Len Lesser

Len Lesser posts a report every week

You can email Len at lenlesser@hotmail.com