Health Buzz: Smoking Is Worse for Women and Other Health News

Health Effects of Smoking Worse for Women

A recent study suggests that women who smoke cigarettes develop lung disease earlier than their male counterparts, Reuters reports. Researchers looked at a group of 954 current or past smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD, a lung disease in which the airways are damaged or blocked by mucus, makes breathing difficult. The new findings, presented yesterday at the American Thoracic Society's annual meeting in San Diego, showed that women younger than 60 with COPD had worse lung function than the men their age. Women who were light smokers had also developed more severe disease than men who smoked lightly.

Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who coauthored the study, suggests that women may be more susceptible to COPD because their airways are smaller than men's. "Many people believe that their own smoking is too limited to be harmful, that a few cigarettes a day represent a minimal risk," Soerheim said. "However, in the low-exposure group in this study, half of the women actually had severe COPD."

Still smoking? Consider these 3 reasons to quit and an additional 12 reasons that are not so obvious. Also, here are some secrets of successful quitters. And find out if hypnosis can help you quit.

Why People Tell Lies

A growing body of research shows that people lie constantly, that deception is pervasive in everyday life. One study has found that people tell two to three lies every 10 minutes, and even conservative estimates indicate that we lie at least once a day. Many experts don't see much difference between a little white lie and a big lie (like covering up an extramarital affair, for example). "You can argue that a lie done to make someone else feel better is relatively minor," says University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman. "But they have an effect. The bottom line is that a lie is a lie."

"But you can't stop lies entirely," Feldman adds. "Society would grind to a halt." Perhaps that's because, as the adage goes, the truth hurts. According to Bella DePaulo, a psychologist at the University of California-Santa Barbara, it may take less thinking to tell a polite white lie than to tell the more difficult truth.

In those cases where you'd lie to avoid hurt feelings, it may be good that people often can't tell fact from fiction. Studies have shown that people can identify lies only about 50 percent of the time, or about the same as chance. To figure out if you're being deceived, U.S. News brings you 3 ways to tell if someone is lying. If you're hearing what you think is a big fib, for example, look for dilated pupils, an indication of nervousness. Also, look for the liar to talk with palms up, as if asking to be believed.

Consider why experts think we're more paranoid than ever. If you think you're paranoid, find out here, and then learn 5 ways to ease your suspicions. Also, U.S. News's Lindsay Lyon writes why narcissism is epidemic now and 7 myths about narcissism.

Health Reform: Where Women Stand to Gain

A new report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services found that only 48 percent of working women are able to get health coverage at work compared with 57 percent of men. Single women are twice as likely to be uninsured as married women, since the former can't rely on a spouse for insurance. And many of the 14 million women who purchase individual insurance on their own are charged higher premiums than men who buy the same coverage. Managed-care companies often justify charging women more because they visit doctors more often, have higher healthcare costs, and face the possibility of future pregnancies and hospitalizations to give birth.

To get an idea of how reforming the healthcare system might address women's healthcare needs, U.S. News's Deborah Kotz interviews Karen Greenrose, president and CEO of the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations, a group that represents PPO health insurance plans. Greenrose gives her own discouraging account of struggling with the insurance system after she developed breast cancer.

Learn how much your premium could cost with a public-insurance plan. Consider how to pick a health plan you can afford and the downsides to buying individual health insurance.

—Megan Johnson

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