Women are more susceptible to tobacco carcinogens than men, although their lung disease is less likely to be fatal reports a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Lung cancer is now the major cause of cancer deaths among women. The study included about 14,500 asymptomatic men and women who were past or current smokers, with no previous cancers other than some melanomas, undergoing baseline screening for cancer.

While women were about the same age as men (67 compared to 68) at diagnosis, they had smoked far less–47 pack years vs. 64 pack years. (A “pack year” is a way to measure the amount a person has smoked over a long period of time. It is calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked. For example, 1 pack year is equal to smoking 1 pack per day for 1 year, or 2 packs per day for half a year.) Controlling for age and the amount smoked, researchers concluded that women smokers have almost double the risk of lung cancer compared to men–2.1 percent vs. 1.2 percent. But more women were likely to be diagnosed at Stage I than men, and their disease was less apt to be fatal.