Here’s another reason women may want to quit puffing on cigarettes: New findings, published in the journal Menopause, showed smoking can speed up the onset of menopause in some women, NBC.com reported.

For the study, researchers followed 410 women between ages 35 and 47 for 14 years. Half of the women were African American, and half were white.

At the end of the study, researchers found that about seven percent of white women with a certain gene mutation who smoked heavily entered menopause an average of nine years early.

Study authors said that’s because certain genes can cause volatile cancer-causing reactions with toxins in tobacco smoke when these substances enter the human body.

“A lot of toxins are inactive when entering the body,” said Samantha Butts, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, and the study’s lead author. “Some of these genes are ones that make inert [not chemically reactive] toxins more toxic.”

What’s more, findings also showed that all female smokers are at risk of slowing their biological clock. All the women smokers who participated in the study entered menopause one year younger than non-smokers, regardless of their genetics.

Smoking might also cause premature aging that’s reflected by sagging jowls and wrinkled skin. Click here for more information.