MANILA, Philippines—Women smokers in the country are getting younger, a recent study has found, with three out of 10 female Filipino smokers in their early teens.

The study conducted by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance showed that 18.7 percent of young Filipino females between the ages of 13 and 25 smoked cigarettes.

"What was more alarming was that three out of 10 Filipina smokers were 13 to 15 years old," said Dr. Maricar Limpin, executive director of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP), which released the findings on Thursday.

The study showed that 60 percent of Filipino women smokers started smoking at 18, with the rest saying they took their first puff when they were much younger.

"The study clearly shows that tobacco companies are enticing the youth to take up smoking," said Limpin, who is a lung doctor.

"In marketing parlance, the youth are called 'replacement smokers' and they are the ones now being targeted by these tobacco companies," she said.

Limpin also attributed the high incidence of smoking among the youth to peer pressure.

Smokers know about the detrimental effects of smoking -- with the study finding that nine out of 10 smokers aware of the risks -- yet they continue to smoke.

"The statistics on girls as young as 13 becoming addicted to smoking are really alarming, and something has to be done about it," said Limpin.

She said smoking endangered a woman's reproductive health, among other ill effects.

According to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the risk of a heart attack for women who both smoke and use oral contraception is greater than for non-smokers.

FNRI’s other warnings:

• Women who smoke are less fertile and pregnant female smokers are twice as likely to have a miscarriage.

• Women who smoke and use an IUD (intrauterine device) are more likely to develop pelvic inflammatory disease than women who do not.

• Women smokers are at greater risk to develop cancer of the cervix.

• Women who smoke are likely to reach menopause earlier and are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis and have a hysterectomy.

• Babies of women who smoke during pregnancy are lighter and are more likely to be stillborn or die during the first few weeks.

The FCAP has been lobbying for stricter measures to curb smoking in the country, such as requiring tobacco companies to place picture warnings on cigarette packs. (Inquirer News Service)