The Nation : Stroke Risk Found for Women Smokers

Smoking sharply increases a woman’s chances of having a stroke, researchers concluded in a major new study. Although the association between smoking and strokes has been clearly established in men, previous studies have produced mixed conclusions about the relationship between cigarettes and strokes in women, the researchers said. The new study, believed the largest and best-designed to be completed, found women who smoked any amount at least doubled their risk of suffering a stroke, while heavy smokers increased their risk for the most serious type of stroke nearly 10 times, the researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.