Smoking had always been a domain of men. The percentage of women who smoked was always small, almost negligible. Surveys and statistics almost always concentrated on the smoking rates in men. But there has been a change, possibly for the worse, in this trend lately. In recent years, women have been drawn more and more to smoking. The number of women who are smokers has gone up exponentially.
Why the difference?
There are many reasons for the differences, ranging from acceptance to economic freedom to gender equality.
Acceptability
Till the middle of the twentieth century, it was socially more acceptable for men rather than women to smoke. Smoking was s sign of rebellion and this was more acceptable in men. Women who smoked were looked down upon. This slowly started changing at this time and more and more women started taking to smoking. It became socially more acceptable.
Economic freedom
Economic status also played great role in gender differences in smoking. Earlier, it was men who went out to work and earned money, they were economically independent. Women, on the other hand, were dependent on the men of the house economically. This started to change in the 20th century and more and more women began to go out and work, they began to earn money and this gave them economic freedom. This was something new fore them then and taking up smoking was one of the ways for them to show off this freedom.
Feminist movement
A third very important reason for this sudden increase in the incidence of smoking among women is the popularity of the feminist movement and the idea of equality of the sexes. Smoking was seen as something only men were permitted to do. As a rebellion against this difference, a lot of women feminists took up smoking.
Statistics for smoking prevalence in men and women in some US states
| Men | |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 28.50% |
| Missouri | 27.30% |
| Tennessee | 26.70% |
| West Virginia | 27.10% |
| Kentucky | 24.30% |
| Indiana | 23.90% |
Source: Original Source
Now, however, smoking has become very common among women too and it is no longer seen as something out of the ordinary in most cases. It has become more socially acceptable than smoking should possibly be. It is a fact that women are more recent smokers as compared to men. It is still a novelty for many of them due to which they seem reluctant to accept the ill effects of smoking and quit. These could be some of the reasons, and cessation statistics support this, why men show greater willingness and success with smoking cessation as compared to women.
