Behavior change, health, and health disparities 2024: Smoking and other tobacco use among women and girls

Abstract

This Special Issue (SI) of Preventive Medicine is the 11th in an annual series on behavior change, health, and health disparities. The theme of this 2024 issue is Smoking and Other Tobacco Use among Women and Girls. Cigarette smoking remains the single most preventable cause of death in the U.S., causing the premature death of more than 200,000 U.S. women annually, a mortality rate that far exceeds levels from conditions more commonly associated with premature death in women (e.g., breast cancer). Of course, cigarette smoking among women and girls is also a well-known cause of intergenerational adverse health effects. Women and girls are also using e-cigarettes and many other tobacco products that are flooding the U.S. tobacco marketplace. This SI includes eleven peer-reviewed articles that advance knowledge across a wide range of topics on disproportionate adverse effects, prevalence, and risk factors for cigarette smoking and other tobacco use in women and girls.

Keywords: Adverse effects; Behavior change; Cigarettes; E-cigarettes; Females; Girls; Health disparities; Sex differences; Smoking; Tobacco use; Women.