Women smokers have more heart risk than men

Women who smoke cigarettes are more likely to develop heart disease than men, says new research released on August 11. After reviewing data on 2.4 million people and 44,000 cardiac events, the article's authors found female smokers have a 25 percent greater risk for coronary heart disease than males who smoke cigarettes.
The researchers, published in The Lancet medical journal, also found the difference in risk for male and female smokers increased by two percent for every year they smoke.
"It hasn't been widely recognised that there had been this sex difference," said Rachel Huxley of the University of Minnesota, the article's lead author, in an interview. The findings could be attributed to physical differences between men and women, or differences in smoking habits, according to the study.