Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of developing bone loss, which may lead to osteoporosis. Smoking is one of a variety of factors that may contribute to a person's risk of developing osteoporosis.
Our bodies constantly create, break down, and replace bone in an ongoing cycle that takes about 100 days. Osteoporosis occurs when the loss of bone surpasses the production of new bone to the point where bones become less dense and fracture more easily. The link between smoking and osteoporosis may be lower levels of estrogen in women who smoke - they tend to have earlier menopause by a few years, in comparison to nonsmoking women.
During menopause, women don't produce as much estrogen, which may weaken their bones and lead to osteoporosis. It has also been found that many types of estrogen therapy used to treat osteoporosis are frequently less effective in smokers.