16 Jul 2025 • Women face greater smoking-related COPD risks than men. Female smokers with ≥50 pack-years had 41.6x higher exacerbation risk vs never-smokers (23.7-fold increase in males).

Key Findings:

• Respiratory mortality HRs reached 11.1 in women vs 5.66 in men.
• Smoking also disproportionately increased women’s risks of airway obstruction, chronic bronchitis, and dyspnea.

Findings highlight the urgent need for sex-specific prevention strategies.

Source: BMJ Journals | Read Full Story