Smokers are 59 percent more likely to begin menopause before age 45 than women who do not smoke, according to a new study from the University of Oslo, Norway.

Reuters reported July 19 that researchers who studied 2,123 women ages 59 and 60 found that the risk of early menopause was almost doubled among heavy smokers, but that women who quit smoking lowered their risk by 87 percent compared to current smokers.

Early menopause could raise women's risk of osteoporosis and heart disease, experts said.

Of the women in the study who went into menopause before age 45, 25 percent were current smokers, 28.7 were former smokers, and 35.2 percent were currently exposed to secondhand smoke.

The study was published in the July 7, 2007 issue of the journal BMC Public Health.