Lung cancer caused by smoking is now the biggest killer of females with cancer, says United States surgeon general David Satcher.
"One woman dies from smoking every three minutes," he said. "Yet women may not fully realize the threat: Lung cancer claims 27,000 more women's lives [in the United States] than the breast cancer that women dread so much."
Tobacco companies aggressively target women in advertising campaigns. They spend nearly $1 million an hour to promote a product that significantly reduces life expectancy and threatens or reduces the quality of life of those who use it. Female smokers face additional risks such as menstrual irregularities, earlier menopause, infertility and bone-thinning osteoporosis.
Christians have a responsibility to set an example in how they treat their bodies. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit ... and you are not your own." Elsewhere in the same epistle he states: "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" (1 Corinthians 3:17).
It is the responsibility of Christians to take care of their physical bodies along with caring for themselves spiritually. (Source: The Associated Press.)
