Women and smoking
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
smoking has serious negative effects on the body. A wide variety of diseases and medical phenomena affect the sexes differently, and the same holds true for the effects of tobacco. Since the proliferation of tobacco, many cultures have viewed smoking as a masculine vice, and as such the majority of research into the specific differences between men and women with regards to the effects of tobacco have only been studied in-depth in recent years.


Countries and regions


Egypt


Gaza


Religious bans on female smoking

In 2010 the
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
-led Islamist government of Gaza imposed a ban on women smoking the popular
nargila A hookah ( Hindustani: (Nastaleeq), (Devanagari), IPA: ; also see other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often ''muʽassel''), ...
s in public. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry explained that "It is inappropriate for a woman to sit cross-legged and smoke in public. It harms the image of our people."Gaza ban on women smoking pipes
Reuters, 19 July 2010, The Independent.
The ban was soon lifted later that year and women returned to smoking in popular venues like the cafe of Gaza's
Crazy Water Park Crazy Water Aqua Fun Park was a water park in the Gaza Strip that served the territory's small wealthy class. The park opened in May 2010 and was burned down by masked men in September 2010, after being closed by the Palestinian Hamas de facto gov ...
."Edict lifted for female smokers"
Jason Koutsoukis, July 29, 2010, The Sunday Morning Herald.
The park was burned down by masked men in September 2010, after being closed by the
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
.Gunmen torch Gaza beach club shuttered by Hamas
AFP 19-09-2010
The
Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Gaza Strip) The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ( ''hayʾa al-ʾamr bil-maʿrūf wan-nahī ʿan al-munkar'') is a group in the Palestinian territory of Gaza Strip, responsible for enforcing traditional Muslim codes of behavi ...
has arrested women for smoking in public.
Jonathan Spyer Jonathan Spyer ( he, יונתן ספייר, ar, جوناثان سباير) is a British-Israeli analyst, writer, and journalist of Middle Eastern affairs. He is a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and the Middle East For ...

Analysis: The Islamic republic of Gaza
Jerusalem Post 29-09-2009


Japan

In
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
or earlier than it, tobacco had come to Japan. were the main smokers among Japanese women by the early 19th century.


North Korea


Syria


United States

The cigarette industry began a propaganda campaign geared toward women beginning in the 1920s in the United States. These campaigns became more aggressive as time has progressed and marketing in general became more prominent. The practice of marketing aimed exclusively at women has continued into the present day and has now expanded globally. With gender-targeted marketing, including packaging and slogans ''(especially " slimmer" and "
lighter A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
" cigarettes)'', and promotion of women smoking in movies and popular TV shows, the tobacco industry was able to increase the percent of women smoking. In the 1980s, tobacco industries were made to have the surgeon general's warning printed on each packaging of the tobacco products. This slowed the rate of women smoking but later it slightly increased after the advertisements started to look more present day and have more appealing packaging, that appealed to the younger generation. In more recent times, cigarette smoking has been banned from public places and this has decreased smoking rates in the United States.


Pre-1920s

In January 1908, the
New York City Board of Aldermen The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish t ...
unanimously passed the
Sullivan Ordinance The Sullivan Ordinance was a Local ordinance, municipal law passed on January 21, 1908, in New York City by the New York City Board of Aldermen, board of aldermen, barring the management of a public place from allowing women to Smoking, smoke wit ...
; it prohibited smoking by women in public places.Brandt, Allan M. (2007). ''The Cigarette Century''. New York: Basic Books, page 57. The
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
at the time,
George B. McClellan Jr. George Brinton McClellan Jr. (November 23, 1865November 30, 1940), was an American statesman, author, historian, and educator. The son of the American Civil War general and President of the United States, presidential candidate George B. McClell ...
,
vetoed A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto pow ...
the ordinance in February. There were many other such laws and rules. In 1911, the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. Th ...
divided the American Tobacco Trust into several different companies, making market share critical to each company's survival. The resulting competition spurred innovations in both product and marketing, and eventually progressed to the idea of brands. By 1915, Reynolds' Camel had become the first truly national brand. Soon to follow were
Liggett & Myers Liggett Group ( ), formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Durham, North Carolina, though its manufacturing facility is 30 miles to the west i ...
' Chesterfield and the
American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...
's
Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating ...
. These brands were modern and appealed to the modern sensibilities that were taking over the people of the United States at the time.


1920s–1940s

In the early part of the 20th century, the anti-tobacco movement was aimed primarily at women and children.
Smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
was considered a dirty habit and smoking by women was seriously frowned upon by society. As the century progressed so did women's desire for equality. The
suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
gave many women a sense of entitlement and freedom and the tobacco industry took advantage of the marketing opportunity. "
Torches of Freedom "Torches of Freedom" was a phrase used to encourage women's smoking by exploiting women's aspirations for a better life during the early twentieth century first-wave feminism in the United States. Cigarettes were described as symbols of emancipatio ...
" was a phrase used to encourage women's smoking by exploiting women's aspirations for a better life during the early twentieth century
first-wave feminism First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on legal issues, primarily on securing women's right to vote. The term is often used s ...
in the United States. The term was first used by psychoanalyst
A. A. Brill Abraham Arden Brill (October 12, 1874 – March 2, 1948) was an Austrian-born psychiatrist who spent almost his entire adult life in the United States. He was the first psychoanalyst to practice in the United States and the first translator of S ...
when describing the natural desire for women to smoke and was used by
Edward Bernays Edward Louis Bernays ( , ; November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995) was an American theorist, considered a pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, and referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations". His best-known ca ...
to encourage women to smoke in public despite social taboos.
Cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...
were described as symbols of emancipation and equality with men. Tobacco companies began marketing cigarettes to appeal to women during the burgeoning women's movement of the 1920s. The American Tobacco Company began targeting women with its ads for Lucky Strikes. They employed ads featuring prominent women, such as
Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
, and promised slimming effects. Most of the ads also conveyed a carefree and confident image of women that would appeal to the modern woman of the 1920s. The ads grew more extravagant with paid celebrity testimonials and far-reaching claims of how Lucky Strikes could improve their lives. Their most aggressive campaign directly challenged the candy industry by urging women to "reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet". These aggressive campaigns paid off, making Lucky Strike the most smoked brand within a decade. Other companies followed the successful ad campaigns of the American Tobacco Company with their own versions. The Phillip Morris Company introduced Marlboro cigarettes in 1925. Marlboros were advertised as being as "mild as May" and featured elegant ivory tips that appealed to women. Other brands offered similar ads appealing to a woman's sense of beauty and style and made cigarettes an alluring part of many women's lives. Fear of weight gain remains a chief reason women continue to smoke. The ad campaigns successfully promoted cigarettes as a product possessing specific qualities including equality, autonomy, glamour, and beauty. In 1929 Edward Bernays decided to pay women to smoke their "torches of freedom" as they walked in the Easter Sunday Parade in New York. This was a shock because until that time, women were only permitted to smoke in certain places such as in the privacy of their own homes. He was very careful when picking women to march because, "while they should be good looking, they should not look too model-y", and he hired his own photographers to make sure that good pictures were taken and then published around the world. Ruth Hale called for women to join in the march saying, "Women! Light another torch of freedom! Fight another sex taboo!" Once the footage was released, the women's walk was seen as a protest for equality and sparked discussion throughout the nation. The targeting of women in
tobacco advertising Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products ...
led to higher rates of smoking among women. In 1923 women only purchased 5% of cigarettes sold; in 1929 that percentage increased to 12%, in 1935 to 18.1%, peaking in 1965 at 33.3%, and remaining at this level until 1977. In 1934, Edward Bernays was asked to deal with women's apparent reluctance to buy Lucky Strikes because their green and red package clashed with standard female fashions. When Bernays suggested changing the package to a neutral color,
George Washington Hill George Washington Hill (October 22, 1884, Philadelphia – September 13, 1946, Matapédia, Quebec) became President of American Tobacco Co. after his father Percival Hill. He hired public relations expert Edward Bernays to reverse the taboo agains ...
, head of the
American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...
, refused, saying that he had already spent millions advertising the package. Bernays then endeavored to make green a fashionable color. The centerpiece of his efforts was the Green Ball, a social event at the Waldorf Astoria, hosted by
Narcissa Cox Vanderlip Narcissa Cox Vanderlip, née Mabel Narcissa Cox (1879-1966) was an American suffragist. She attended the University of Chicago, but left in her senior year to get married. On May 19, 1903, she married Frank A. Vanderlip in her home town of Chicag ...
. The pretext for the ball and its unnamed underwriter was that proceeds would go to charity. Famous society women would attend wearing green dresses. Manufacturers and retailers of clothing and accessories were advised of the excitement growing around the color green. Intellectuals were enlisted to give highbrow talks on the theme of green. Before the ball had actually taken place, newspapers and magazines (encouraged in various ways by Bernays's office) had latched on to the idea that green was all the rage. In a content analysis of North American and British editions of ''Vogue'',
Cheryl Krasnick Warsh Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from ...
and Penny Tinkler trace representations of women smokers from the 1920s through the 1960s, concluding that the magazine "located the cigarette within the culture of the feminine elite," associating it with "the constellation of behaviours and appearances presented as desirable characteristics of elitism, through the themes of lifestyle, 'the look', and feminine confidence".


1950s–1970s

The late 1950s and early 1960s brought about a new onslaught of cigarette brands. Each new brand of cigarette introduced during this time advertised its unique benefits. The major new innovation in tobacco marketing was the filtered cigarette. Filters made cigarettes less harsh to smoke and offered the appearance of removing potentially harmful particles. The 1950s began the rebranding of Marlboros from an elite cigarette to an everyman's cigarette and also saw the introduction of strong Marlboro men, such as athletes, and more famously cowboys. This change in Marlboro branding meant Philip Morris was lacking a cigarette aimed at women. The 1950s also began a boom in advertising for tobacco companies. Ads featuring prominent movie and television stars became commonplace and tobacco companies also began sponsoring television shows, game shows, and other widespread media. One of the most popular was Philip Morris's sponsorship of the ''
I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' show. The opener featured the two stars of the show with a giant pack of Philip Morris cigarettes. The show ''
Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...
'' was proudly sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike brand. In 1965, it was reported that 33.9% of women were smoking.
Virginia Slims Virginia Slims is an American brand of cigarettes owned by Altria. It is manufactured by Philip Morris USA (in the United States) and Philip Morris International (outside the United States). Virginia Slims are narrower ( circumference) than sta ...
came on the market in 1968, and used the catch phrase "You’ve come a long way baby." This was the first cigarette to be marketed solely as a woman's cigarette. The cigarettes were longer, slimmer, and overall more elegant and feminine. The ads depicted photos of glamorous women set against photos of women doing mundane tasks such as laundry or housework. 1970 saw the release of Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company's entry into women specific cigarettes, Eve. Eve cigarettes were decidedly more feminine than Virginia Slims. Eve featured flowers or other feminine motifs on both the packaging and the cigarette themselves. The 1970s ushered in the end of television advertising and the beginning of print ads carrying health warnings regarding the dangers of smoking. The 1970s also brought nearly annual reports from the Surgeon General's office regarding the health consequences of smoking. In 1970, a reported 31.5% of women were smokers. Tobacco companies were barred from advertising on television, but smartly moved the market focus to sponsoring sporting and entertainment events. In 1973, a widely publicized tennis match dubbed "The Battle of the Sexes" featured
Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...
, a long-time spokesperson for Virginia Slims, bedecked in the brand's sequins and colors. American was tennis wild in the 1970s and Billie Jean King was a superstar. Virginia Slims sponsored the
Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenni ...
Tour for close to twenty years. The 1970s ended with filtered cigarettes almost completely overtaking the market.


1980s-2010s

The 1980s began with the first Surgeon General's Report on the Health Consequences of Smoking for Women. This report—published nearly 15 years after the original 1964 Surgeon General's Report—came nearly sixty years after tobacco companies began marketing their products to women. The smoking rate of women in 1980 was at 29.3%. In 1987,
Brown & Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancing ...
introduced the Capri cigarette, which following suit with other feminine cigarettes was a long, slim, elegant cigarette geared toward feminine hands. 1990 saw the women's smoking rate at 22.8%, continuing its slow decline. The Virginia Slims tennis tour came to an end in 1994, after 23 successful years. This was just one of many broad spectrum advertising methods that ended in the 1980s and 1990s as public sentiments regarding smoking began their shift. The 1990s were marked by continued restrictions on smoking in public and workplaces. The late 1980s and 1990s were also marked by increased marketing to teenagers and young adults. Many of the same marketing strategies used with women were used with this target group. By 1998, the women's smoking rate had dropped to 22%. 1998 also marked the year of the
Master Settlement Agreement The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was entered on November 23, 1998, originally between the four largest United States tobacco companies ( Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard – the "original participati ...
. The beginning of the 21st century saw women smoking at a rate of 22.8%, which was a slight increase compared to the previous decade. Advertising and marketing remained static after the 1998 Settlement Agreement. Advertising campaigns looked to present more modern and cutting-edge packaging and language, appealing to a younger and hipper demographic. In 2001, the most recent Surgeon General's Report in regards to women and smoking was released.
RJ Reynolds Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The son of a tobacco farmer, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry College from 1868 to 1870, ...
entered the women's market in 2007, with its Camel No. 9 cigarette. The packaging is very contemporary in feel, and very feminine at the same time. It features pink edging as a distinct contrast on the black packaging and the interior of the package is lined in pink foil. The cigarettes are sold in light and menthol light varieties, with the latter featuring a teal highlight and foil, instead of the pink of the regular lights. The first decade of this century has also been marked by mass smoking regulations. A multitude of cities, municipalities, and states passed legislations prohibiting smoking in public places, such as bars, restaurants, and an assortment of other public venues. This is a growing phenomenon, which aided in reducing smoking rates in the United States. The overall smoking rate in the United States dropped from approximately 46% in 1950 to approximately 21% in 2004. Smoking rates continued to slowly decline throughout the 2000s and 2010s. By 2017 the percentage of current smokers had fallen to 14.0% and the proportion of ex-smokers increased, these rates remained at a stand-still throughout the end of the decade. Compared to their male peers women were significantly less likely smoke; while 15.3% of men still smoked, only 12.7% of women were current smokers.


2020s and onward


General health effects

According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
,
cigarette smoking Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed ...
is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and produces substantial health-related economic costs to society. During the time between 1995 and 1999, smoking resulted in approximately 440,000 premature deaths per year and about $157 billion in "health-related economic losses". Smoking has been known to increase to the risks of, and has been linked to, a plethora of adverse health effects. For instance, "Cigarette smoking accounts for about one-third of all cancers, including 90 percent of lung cancer cases. moking alsocauses lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, nd canincrease the risk of heart disease, including stroke, heart attack, vascular disease, and aneurysm." According to the Surgeon General's Report of 2004, titled "The Health Consequences of Smoking", other consequences of smoking include increased risk of cataracts, lowered levels of antioxidants, especially vitamin C, heightened inflammation, and
periodontitis Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen and red and may bleed. It is considered the main caus ...
.


Unique gender differences and health effects for women

In the United States, although general rates of smoking are declining – "24.1% in 1998 to 20.6% in 2008",Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Trends in Smoking Cessation – United States, 2008 and there are higher rates among men – the gendered health consequences illustrate that women are at a greater disadvantage. "In 2008, smoking prevalence was higher among men (23%) than women (18.3%)"; however that gender gap appears to be narrowing. Prior to recent increasing smoking rates, women usually experienced different effects of smoking compared to men. For instance, a decrease in lifetime expectancy is greater for female smokers compared to male smokers. On average, while an adult male loses 13.2 years due to smoking, an adult female smoker loses 14.5 years of life. This decreased life expectancy for male smokers mirrors the gender differences in life expectancy overall. However, when it comes to smokers in particular, males tend to smoke more heavily than women do. Yet still women continue to show more deleterious results. As previously mentioned, smoking is attributable to the majority of lung cancer cases. Over the years lung cancer mortality has dramatically increased among women. "In 1987, lung cancer surpassed breast cancer to become the leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women." Smoking now accounts for 80% of lung cancer deaths among women. Although there has been a more pronounced campaign to raise funds for breast cancer research and a possible cure, more women are dying from lung cancer. Research also continues to question whether women tend to be more susceptible to lung cancer, regardless of similar exposure as their male counterparts. However, making a definitive answer has been difficult, and the issue remains controversial.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...
(COPD) is another major issue among women who smoke. The risk of having COPD is increased with amount and duration and smoking accounts for 90 percent of COPD mortalities. The effects of smoking on cardiovascular health also shows sex differences. Heart diseases continue to be the leading cause of death nationwide, and one of the risk factors is smoking. Unique to women, smoking lowers their estrogen and their high-density lipoproteins that prevent arteries from blockage. For many women the effects of smoking on the heart's health become obvious later on in life. Among current female smokers, "the chance of dying from heart disease or lung cancer exceeds the chance of dying from breast cancer from 40 on (and does so by at least a factor of 5 after age 55)." The habit becomes particularly crucial when women are also taking birth control because these two in concert increases, even more so, women's chances of having a stroke or a heart attack. When observing older women, those who smoke in their postmenopausal stages tend to have a lower bone density along with more hip fractures when compared to their non-smoker counterparts.Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General For the younger cohort of women, during their reproductive stages, smoking affects their reproductive health as well as pregnancy outcomes. Research has revealed that smoking makes it more difficult for women to conceive and it can also result in infertility. Women who smoke while they are pregnant increase their chances of having an early delivery and low-birth weight babies.American Cancer Society. "Women and Smoking" One of the many serious effects on the fetus itself is
sudden infant death syndrome Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usuall ...
(SIDS). Studies have shown that "infants of mothers who smoke during and after pregnancy are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than babies to non-smoking mothers". Smoking during pregnancy could also cause stillbirth, preterm birth, placental abruption.


The future: women, smoking, and globalization

As smoking levels decline in the developed world they are increasing in the developing world. The major cigarette manufacturers have more than tripled the number of cigarettes exported in the last 35 years. Tobacco companies are using similar strategies to attract women in other countries that they used in the early days of attracting American women. Offering appealing ads that depict cigarettes as modern, empowering, and liberating draws in women smokers who make every effort to be as western as possible. The smoking bans occurring in the United States are happening around the globe. In other countries (as in the United States), tobacco manufacturers circumvent advertising restrictions by sponsoring events, retail endorsements, and advertising in alternative markets such as satellite television channels. These methods have proven quite successful for the tobacco industry. Overwhelmingly, in the global market the trends point toward the market becoming increasingly female in the future.


Delving deeper: Women, smoking and globalization

When discussing smoking among women it is crucial to also take into account the fact that smoking, and tobacco use in general, is a global issue that is not confined to the borders of the Western world. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes the stark difference between women in various geographic locations as it states that " out 22 percent of women in developed countries and 9 percent of women in developing countries smoke tobacco". However, numerically the number of women could be more in developing countries.Mackay, J. and Amanda Amos. "Women and Tobacco", ''Respirology'' 8 (2003):123-130 In his article, Fred C. Pampel looks into why these differences may exist and suggests reasons pertaining to gender equality, cigarette diffusion, economic factors and smoking policies.Pampel, F. C. "Global Patterns and Determinants of Sex Differences in Smoking", ''International Journal of Comparative Sociology'' 47, no. 6 (2006):466-87. For women in countries where traditional gender roles have changed, it becomes more socially acceptable for women to initiate smoking. However, this evidence should not hinder a deeper look into the smoking among women in developed countries. Though the rates of smoking among people in developed countries are on a slow decline, smoking rates among middle and low-income countries are increasing. This particularly affects women within developing regions because they are most at risk when male cigarette use is high. About 70% of tobacco users live in developing countries, and about half of the men in these countries are smokers.Doskoch, P. "Many Pregnant Women Use Tobacco in Some Developing Countries" ''International Family Planning Perspective'' 34, no. 4 (December 2008): 199-200 Although women are not mainly the ones to smoke, they are still exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). When among men who smoke, the risks of passive smoking increase for women whether they are at home or at work. Smoking and second-hand smoke not only affects the female body but has detrimental results on the health of their children. This issue is compounded in developing nations that may already have limited medical care for women. A study that focused on pregnant women in a few Latin American and African countries, India and Pakistan showed that " men in Latin America had the highest level of tobacco use." The probability of living with a tobacco user was also high in Latin America but highest in Asia. Argentina and Uruguay had the highest percentages of women who were once regular smokers, who had smoked during their current pregnancy and who thought it was acceptable for women to smoke. One-fifth of the world's largest tobacco producers are in the Latin American region, which includes Argentina and Brazil.Müller, F. and Luis Wehbe. "Smoking and smoking cessation in Latin America: a review of the current situation and available treatments", '' International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease'' 3, no. 2 (June 2008): 285-293. With such increased production in these countries, the prices of cigarettes are significantly lowered. In these two latter countries, a pack of premium cigarettes such as the Marlboro brand can cost between US$1 and US$1.99, rendering cigarettes more accessible and encouraging more consumption. This has serious implications for the population as whole. The smoking rates among women alone are also a point of concern. In Argentina, 22.6% of the women smoke, while in other countries such as Uruguay the percentage is 25.1 percent. As the rate of tobacco use among men is predicted to decrease, the rate among women is estimated to rise to 20% of the woman population by 2025. A major catalyst for this increase in smoking among women is globalization because it allows for the increase in the marketing of tobacco products to middle and low-income areas. In their efforts to expand their markets, multinational tobacco companies are paying particular attention to women. The advertisements tend to include words such as 'menthol', 'mild' and 'light,' and seek out women through "alluring marketing campaigns, linking smoking with emancipation and glamour". Consequently, the rates of tobacco use among women in regions such as Asia, Africa and Latin America have increased. The lack of strict tobacco control policies in developing countries sets up an environment where little to no advertising restrictions and taxationAndrews, J. O. and J. Heath. "Women and the global tobacco epidemic: nurses call to action", ''International Nursing Review'' 50 (2003): 215-228 are in place to buffer the impending increase in smoking among women. What puts women in developing regions at an even greater disadvantage is the significant shift in tobacco production to their areas, where they are mainly involved in the harvesting. With all these influences, cessation can be very difficult for women. There has been research surrounding this topic among many developed nations in order to explore and find the most successful methods, even for women. Many of these studies have expressed that women who attempt to quit on their own "were less likely to quit initially or to remain abstinent at follow up". When speaking of women in developing countries, however, they would experience added barriers due to their low-income status. While women in the developed countries have cessation programs available, not many programs are available to women in developing countries. The latter group of women could significantly benefit from educational programs that teach of the adverse effects of smoking on their health as well as the health of their children. Although these programs may not be set in place in the various areas they are most needed, several organizations have made an effort to draw smoking among women to the public's attention. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) published ''The Tobacco Atlas'' which is helpful in showing the scope of the issue among women on a worldwide scale. This organization has also negotiated the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which is a treaty supported by 164 Parties and was done "in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic". This initiative has been particular about pointing out how women are also being affected. In sum, when looking at smoking among women beyond the boundaries of the Western world, the full scope of the issue comes into view.


See also

*
History of nicotine marketing The history of nicotine marketing stretches back centuries. Nicotine marketing has continually developed new techniques in response to historical circumstances, societal and technological change, and regulation. Countermarketing has also changed, i ...
*
Nicotine marketing Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco product ...
*
Ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...


References


External links


WHO - Gender, women, and the tobacco epidemic


{{Smoking nav Smoking Women in society