Quote:
Originally Posted by danielf
So why did more women take up smoking in the 60s and 70s?
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A very good question, but one which misses the point slightly. These changes are generational. We're looking at a major, population-wide decline over 60 years, so an increase within part of the population during a span of less than 20 years has to be seen within that limited context.
Smoking was historically less aimed at women; there's some useful info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_smoking
... which while slanted at the USA is I think still relevant to the UK situation. It suggests that around the 1950s, fewer than 40% of women were smoking and the tobacco companies were marketing at women aggressively. This would account for the counter-trend rise in female smoking rates.
Of course, it might also demonstrate the power of marketing in the face of medical warnings, thereby adding weight to the current proposals to eliminate what remains of tobacco marketing in this country.