Menopause, that stage every woman goes through when our bodies change from reproductive mode to non-reproductive mode. This gradual transition can take years to complete and during this time many women suffer from mood swings, night sweats, irregular heart beat and hot flashes. The fluctuating levels of natural hormones can trigger those intense feelings of heat accompanied by heart palpitations and sweating. Hot flashes last anywhere from two to thirty minutes and can occur a few times a week to several times daily. Women will try just about anything to find relief and recently a study found that women who smoke cigarettes reported an increase in the the number of hot flashes they were experiencing over their non-smoking counterpart.

In a previous study, cigarette smoking was linked to premature menopause and now it just may be the incentive a woman needs to help her break the habit. According to Samantha Butts, ob-gyn and researcher, most women continue to smoke due to the difficulty they find in quitting. Butts feels that informing women that smoking is contributing to the frequency and intensity of their hot flashes, may be the incentive they need to quit.

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