Why tobacco is a women's health issue.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death amongwomen but is under-recognized as a critical women's health issue. This article provides an overview of the current data about womenand tobacco use, tobacco industry tactics that have resulted in theincreased smoking among women, and gender differences inhealth effects of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke,and in cessation interventions. Resources for clinicians are pro-vided that specifically focus on women and tobacco.