San Diego, CA -- Quitting smoking is harder for women than for men, a Minnesota scientist reported Friday.
Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Minnesota, told a worldwide gathering of hundreds of nicotine and tobacco researchers that women have poorer outcomes than men do in smoking cessation treatment. She spoke at an opening symposium of the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, a worldwide gathering of scientists who study the prevention and cessation of smoking and other tobacco use.
She indicated that work by herself and other researchers shows that women may need a higher dose of nicotine replacement, such as nicotine gum or patch, for help in quitting. Also, the sensory effects of smoking may be more important for women than for men. Women tend to use smoking to cope with negative feelings, and they state that gaining weight when quitting is a greater concern to them than it is to men.
A leading leading researcher in tobacco cessation, Hatsukami is the incoming president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. She spoke as part of a symposium on sex differences in smoking.