For those of you still waiting to quit smoking, I hate to have to break it to you, but the news about this bad habit never gets better.

Smoking has not only been linked to increased rates of atherosclerosis (a buildup of fatty deposits in your arteries) but to higher rates of stroke, bronchitis, emphysema, ulcers, vascular disease, and it causes 80% of all lung cancers. Smoking short changes your body of oxygen. Did I mention it shaves years off of your life? It can cut up to 14 years from the average life span.

The American Heart Association calls smoking the most important preventable cause of premature death in the U.S. "People don't realize that smoking harms almost every tissue in their body. Nicotine causes your heart rate and blood pressure to rise, and carbon monoxide robs your brain of oxygen," said Dr. Clyde Yancy, professor of medicine with University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

It's been four decades since the Surgeon General's office thoughtfully warned pregnant women not to smoke. Despite this, and countless consumer education campaigns, statistics show that about 12% of pregnant women still smoke. Smoking decreases fertility in women and men — sperm mobility takes a nosedive. It boosts the risk of placental problems, increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, and has been linked to a whopping 33% increase in perinatal (after the first 20 weeks) and neonatal (within the first month) mortality. The link between smoking and low birth weight is so well established it is practically legend.

Did you know that smoking can be particularly cruel to women during menopause, too? A 2001 study published in the journal Nature Genetics detailed how researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital linked smoking to early menopause through premature ovarian failure. The study may have been in mouse models, but still it's serious food for thought.

In a large, 10-year study of women aged 24 to 44, researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, found that smokers reported twice as many hot flashes as nonsmokers. Additionally, smoking appears to raise the risk of invasive breast cancer in pre- and postmenopausal women as shown in a long-term, prospective study conducted by researchers at Harvard's School of Public Health, Boston.

Here's a point I can't stress enough: Stop smoking now. There are more options than ever before to help break the addiction. Nicotine is the psychoactive component in tobacco that causes addiction, and there are numerous replacement products available — gum, inhaler, patch — to help cut cravings. Prescription medications have been shown to be effective, as well. Ask your doctor about bupropion (Zyban^®) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix^™). Don't overlook talk therapy and group support, too, because it's true, some things are easier with a little help from your friends.

Visit these sites for help:

• Smokefree.gov — This site is brought to you by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health
   
• The American Cancer Society's Guide to Quitting Smoking
   
• Smoking Stops Here — If you're trying to quit smoking, this is a great place to start. Sponsored by Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.