A review of women and tobacco: have we come such a long way?

The trends in smoking by women over the past century parallel social and economic changes. The crumbling of the double standard spurred the tobacco industry to launch advertising campaigns that target women, juxtaposing images of liberation and feminism with glamour and slimness. As a result, in the 1990s, smoking initiation and prevalence is higher among teenage females than males. Tobacco-related mortality and morbidity among women and their children continue to rise. Women's health care providers must be integral players in a multitiered, broad-based approach to decreasing tobacco use among women. Research is needed on socially isolated women and on the efficacy of nursing interventions related to tobacco use.