Women and tobacco: a total misfit or mis-unfit.

Women smokers are likely to increase as a percentage of the total. If the percentage of women who smoke in developing countries rise to the levels of men smokers, there will be more than 500 million women smokers in the next generation. Because women who smoke die from the same tobacco-caused diseases as men, such an increase will have dramatic effects on women's health and on the health and incomes of their families. In addition, women smokers are also at risk for developing cancer of the reproductive organs and osteoporosis. A gender perspective contributes to a better understanding of the epidemiological trends, social marketing strategies, economic policies, and international actions relating to women and the tobacco epidemic.