Smoking and Breast Health

All women want to have the best looking breasts they can possibly have and many even want an increase in breast size. They want them to be firm, perky, and droop and wrinkle free. This is one very good reason to never start smoking. Smoking is very harmful to all parts of the body, and although it is not spoken about very often, smoking does affect a woman’s breasts.

Many of the chemicals in cigarettes damage the proteins collagen and elastin in the skin. This is not something that is good for breasts. Breasts rely on these two things to keep their shape and their lift. As collagen and elastin go out the door, breasts start to droop. Even being around secondhand smoke can degrade the levels of these important skin features. Not only will breasts and the rest of the skin start to become saggy it will also become wrinkled.

Researchers have discovered that smoking is one of the top causes for sagging breasts. Women would hope it would be time, but as most women will start smoking in their teens this leads to a premature development of saggy breasts.

Smokers are also more susceptible to age spots. Anyone can get age spots with the sun’s help, but they are more prominent on those who smoke. What woman does not love these wonderful spots on and around her breasts?

Sun spots are not the only skin problem smokers have to worry about. Those who do are at a higher risk for developing psoriasis. This causes thick-scaly patches on the skin. It is not that common to appear on the front of the torso, but why take the chance to have breasts look like this.

Women smokers who breastfeed are helping and hurting their baby at the same time. For one, if they do not plan to stop smoking breastfeeding is the best way to keep their baby healthy around all of the smoke. However, moms who breastfeed with cigarette milk can cause their baby to vomit, have diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and become nauseated.

Smoking will also cause a breastfeeding baby to wean earlier. The mother will also have lower milk production and prolactin levels. It also causes lower levels of iodine in the mother’s milk, which is needed for helping the baby’s thyroid function.

Cigarette smoke is a cause of one-third of cancer diagnosis. It is still unclear if breast cancer is related to cigarette smoke, but more studies are being conducted every day. Also, women who smoke still have a two to four times increased risk of developing breast cancer over women who do not smoke.

Women smokers should avoid breast augmentations if they do not plan to quit or postpone a while before and after surgery. A smoker who has a breast lift performed stands a strong chance of having her nipples shrivel up and fall off. This is because the carbon monoxide and nicotine that is in cigarettes diminishes the blood flow in the body. These chemicals make the veins and capillaries that are needed to deliver a strong blood flow during and after surgery shrivel up.

Even being around someone that smokes can make a woman’s skin scream. If she does not smoke but has to constantly be around someone that does, it can still make an impact on her breasts and the rest of her body. Any woman that has to deal with this should inform the smoker that she likes her breasts just the way they are.

Smoking causes premature aging. It is that simple it dries up people from the inside out. Those who smoke shut off oxygen and proper blood flow to the important parts of their body. This ages the body in just about every area, including the breasts, quickly. Smokers in their 40s who have smoked for the majority of their lives will for the majority of the time appear 10-20 years older. Women who hope to keep their breasts looking youthful or increase breast size do not stand a chance if they are smokers.