Smoking Celebrities | Female Smoking Celebs and Their Influence
Kids need role models. In many cases, this job goes to the parents, older siblings or relatives, or family friends. One study, however, found that the most influential people in the lives of today’s youth are not parents, friends or anyone else who interacts with them on a daily basis.
The study found that celebrities are the biggest influence in the lives of children.
That begs the question—what kind of responsibility do these celebrities bare? Should they be put on a high pedestal because of the influence they can have, or should we treat them like we do anyone else, as human beings who will inevitably make mistakes?
One such mistake which can lead to a celebrity becoming a negative influence is smoking. In this post, we feature multiple female celebs, who are not featured here because they won an Oscar, Grammy or Emmy—though many did—but because they are likely at an increased lung cancer risk.
This esteemed list of actresses, comedians, musicians and celebrities were caught on camera in candid photos smoking a cigarette (or cigar).
It is not known if these women are current or former smokers, with smoking a well guarded secret in today’s entertainment business, likely given the stigma associated with smoking. However, even just a glimpse of a beloved celebrity smoking can send the wrong message to some influential youth.
Additionally, smoking may not only be harmful to eager fans, but to the celebrity themselves. All of these celebrities are near or above 40, which is the point where age in combination with smoking history does put you at increased risk for lung cancer.
So, given their age and potential smoking history, let’s consider these risks:
- A 50 year old female who smoked since she was 20 at moderate levels (1 pack a day) has a .6% risk of developing lung cancer in the next 5 years. You might say, less than 1%—that isn’t too much of a risk, is it? Not if you were to compare that to a 50 year old who never smoked. The non-smoker’s risk is a fraction of the smoker. In fact, the smoker is 15 TIMES more likely to develop lung cancer than the non-smoker!
- Let’s jump ahead 10 years, to a 60 years old in the same scenario. Now the risk jumps up to a 2% risk of developing lung cancer in the next 5 years—tripling in just 10 years!
- Yes, it continues to gets worse with age. A 70 year old in the same situation has a 4.4% risk of developing lung cancer in the next 5 years. This means out of 1000 70-year-olds who smoke a pack a day for 40+ years, 44 of those are likely to develop lung cancer in the next 5 years! Their risk compared to someone their age who never smoked? 16 TIMES.
- So does your risk go down if you stop smoking? Yes, but it takes time. If that 60 year old had quit smoking when they were 45 years old—15 years ago—their 5 year risk is virtually unchanged, and they are still 16 TIMES more likely to develop lung cancer than someone their age who never smoked. While their risk does begin to drop, it drops ever so slowly over multiple years.
Want to find out where you stand? Take your own lung cancer risk assessment at http://www.hellohaveyouheard.com/lung-cancer-risk-calculator/ .
These Risk Tables are based on algorithms created by clinicians at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, and were developed from extensive data which took into account age, smoking history and consumption levels to establish an estimated risk for smokers and ex-smokers. Please note these are based on population studies, not individuals.
If you are a lung cancer survivor or if you have a loved one who battled lung cancer, visit our Lung Cancer Awareness Wall to memorialize and honor their personal fight against lung cancer.
Listen up ladies: it’s time to assess your health. Visit www.HelloHaveYouHeard.com to learn more about the EarlyCDT-Lung test and technology.
