Everyone knows that smoking is harmful and is associated with numerous health problems. However, a new study came to an unexpected result – smoking in girls leads to painful menstruation. It turns out that smoking in the early teens is a guarantee of chronic and severe menstrual cramps later on, which are quite difficult to respond to medication. If the first cigarette was lit at the age of about 14 years, the pain during the monthly cycle will be even debilitating, say scientists from the University of Queensland, Australia. Dysmenorrhea affects about 91% of women of reproductive age. In the United States, it is the most common reason women and girls miss work or school. Australian specialists reached their conclusion after an experiment involving 10,000 young women between the ages of 18 and 23, who had to answer numerous questions related to their lifestyle. NEWS_MORE_BOX It was found that 60% of the study participants experienced severe menstrual pain every month. The same 60 percent indicated that they had failed in junior high school. The remaining girls complained of less or no cramps, indicating that they did not use tobacco products or did so only on rare occasions in company and with a drink. Previous research has shown that smoking also causes infertility. In addition, the risk of ectopic pregnancy in women smokers is twice as high as in non-smokers. The former are also more prone to cervical cancer and enter menopause two years earlier.