THE roaring twenties in the US: hemlines rose, women got the vote and the accessory du jour was a cigarette hanging nonchalantly out the corner of a lipsticked mouth.
In the west, smoking among women has long been associated with empowerment. Now this pattern looks set to repeat itself as women in poorer countries become more liberated, says a report in this week's Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Sara Hitchman and Geoffrey Fong at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, analysed the relationship between gender inequality and smoking prevalence in women compared to men in 74 countries. It is estimated that, worldwide, men are five times as likely to smoke as women, but the results showed that in countries where women are more empowered their smoking rates are catching up or exceeding men's, regardless of the country's wealth.
"Tobacco industry marketing strategies over the years have targeted women in countries where their independence is growing," says Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health in London. She cites the example of a cigarette brand from the 1960s whose slogan read: "You've come a long way, baby".
"This study highlights the need to act quickly to curb smoking among women, particularly in developing countries where female smoking rates are quite low," says Douglas Bettcher, director of the Tobacco Free Initiative at the WHO.
In the west, smoking among women has long been associated with empowerment. Now this pattern looks set to repeat itself as women in poorer countries become more liberated, says a report in this week's Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Sara Hitchman and Geoffrey Fong at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, analysed the relationship between gender inequality and smoking prevalence in women compared to men in 74 countries. It is estimated that, worldwide, men are five times as likely to smoke as women, but the results showed that in countries where women are more empowered their smoking rates are catching up or exceeding men's, regardless of the country's wealth.
"Tobacco industry marketing strategies over the years have targeted women in countries where their independence is growing," says Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health in London. She cites the example of a cigarette brand from the 1960s whose slogan read: "You've come a long way, baby".
"This study highlights the need to act quickly to curb smoking among women, particularly in developing countries where female smoking rates are quite low," says Douglas Bettcher, director of the Tobacco Free Initiative at the WHO.
**Published in "New Scientist"
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