Quitting Smoking Decreases Hot Flashes During Menopause

A recent study suggests that during menopause, former smokers may have less and fewer hot flashes compared to women who continue to smoke.

Menopause is the period when women stop menstruating as the ovaries curb the production of progesterone and hormones estrogen. Women experience this between the ages of 45 and 55 and the symptoms include vaginal dryness, insomnia, night sweats, mood swings and hot flashes.

Research has found that women, who have not smoked for five years or more, are less likely to have frequent or severe hot flashes compared to current smokers but they will still have more pronounced symptoms than those women who have never smoked.

According to Rebecca Smith, who is a researcher in epidemiology at the University of Illinois, women should quit smoking at least five years before the period of menopause for less and fewer hot flashes.

Smoking causes deaths as it increases the risk of lung cancer, stroke and many heart diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking can contribute to cancer anywhere in your body.

Researchers says that women who give up smoking have 37 percent more chances of not experiencing hot flashes and women who continues to smoke have 22 percent chances more of not experiencing severe or frequent hot flashes.

Ellen Freeman, a researcher in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, suggests that quitting smoking can lower the risk of cancers and cardiovascular diseases. It is never too late to quit smoking keeping in mind that it reduces the risk of many health issues that are even more dangerous and serious than hot flashes.