Smoking and Young Women

Abstract

Ever since the Baroness de Dudevant (Chopin's mistress, Paris, circa 1840) purportedly became the first woman to don men's trousers and smoke in public,¹smoking by women has become indelibly intertwined with images of independence, fashion, and attractiveness. At the turn of this century, few women smoked. Female smoking prevalence did not exceed 25% until World War II, when it was still half that of men's. Smoking prevalence in men has declined substantially, by almost half, from 51.9% in 1965 to 28.1% in 1991, while women's prevalence has diminished by only about one third, from 33.9% to 23.5%, respectively.²If these trends continue, smoking prevalence for women may, early in the next century, equal that of men. Women have, indeed, "come a long way." The uptake of smoking by women evolved via social and economic forces. Smoking became a symbol of emancipation and defiance. This symbolism was not