Kick the Habit

Research has shown that HIVers are much more likely to smoke than their HIV-negative peers, despite numerous warnings about the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. Now a new study urges HIV-positive women to pay even closer attention to those admonitions. An analysis of more than 950 smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -- a range of conditions from simple shortness of breath to chronic bronchitis and emphysema -- has shown that women are more susceptible to the toxic effects of cigarettes and develop lung problems at a much earlier age than male smokers. And the lung damage wasn't limited to just heavy smokers, according to the researchers. Risks for severe COPD were linked with smoking even just a few cigarettes a day.