A woman is a symbol of beauty, brains, power, skill and fortune. She is the ultimate picture of love, care and compassion. Now, have a look at this picture of the new-age women who flaunts a cigarette as an accessory and blows away smoke as she would blow away any other problem. She takes to flaunting it initially as a fashion statement and thinks herself to be ‘cool'.

Smoking women, at the onset think themselves as trendy and at par with their male counterparts. They consider that a woman with a cigarette in her hand reflects her audacity, assertiveness, poise and states her damn-care attitude. They initially take to smoking as a stress-reliever for a short-term but they ignore the fact that- ‘once an addiction, always an addiction'. To quit smoking might seem like an easy option but not, once you are addicted to it.

Smoking is a vice that starts of as a fashion and ends in addiction. Research shows that a woman's physiology is much more sensitive to tobacco smoking than her male counterpart. But the sad part is that, women addicted to smoking tend to overlook or prefer to turn a blind eye to the inherent ill-effects.

• A woman smoker is also more prone to breathing problems like asthma more than a man.

• She is at a greater risk of being affected by lung cancer, breast cancer, hypertension and heart diseases post menopause.

• Moreover, the worst affected is a smoking pregnant woman. Smoking, be it active or passive may lead to growth retardation to an unborn child and also other complications like miscarriages, birth defects and pre-termed labour.

Smoking tobacco is addiction to nicotine and has similar impact in the brain as any other narcotic drug. So with prolonged smoking, your brain craves for more and makes quitting difficult with the brain dictating withdrawal symptoms. But to quit smoking is not impossible with a combine of doctor's help and a strong will-power. The most effective way to quit smoking is to let it go off at one go instead of in intervals. And to assist you in your efforts are counseling sessions, anti-smoking pills and also anti-depressants to combat withdrawal symptoms.

Smoking tobacco is detrimental for the body and soul. And women being intuitive by nature are sure to realize the dreadful effects of smoking before it's too late. She needs to understand that smoking does not signify power and fun, nor does it represent femininity.