Why do girls smoke? Why does a woman smoke?

It is no longer inappropriate to call modern women the weaker sex. They are successfully engaged in business and rise to leadership positions in large companies, are rapidly conquering career heights. After centuries of male domination, new opportunities are finally opening up for women, but they also face dangers. Many women are disappointed that they cannot take full advantage of this freedom and independence. And the reason for this is smoking.

Is a cigarette a girl’s enemy or friend?

Why do girls smoke cigarettes? After all, it’s no longer a secret to anyone that smoking has an extremely negative effect on one’s appearance. Therefore, it is very surprising why girls start smoking? Well-groomed and attractive, they go for a run or do yoga every morning, and on weekends they go to spa centers. They try Thai massage, mud masks and other procedures, without thinking that problems with appearance are primarily associated with smoking.

Why can't girls smoke? Aging skin, wrinkles, unhealthy complexion, ugly teeth, bad breath and bad smell from clothes - this is far from full list problems faced smoking people. Why do women smoke if they know all this? And not only your image and appearance suffer, but also your health!

Why do girls need cigarettes? For some it is an addition to their morning cup of coffee, for others it is a way to relieve nervous stress, for others - a special image, image. For the latter, as a rule, the ideal is the image of Audrey Hepburn in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, which is associated with wealth and luxury.

According to observations in the field of psychology, women are more likely than men to strong emotions reaching for a cigarette. For men, smoking is a remedy for boredom, and women reach for a cigarette in an attempt to get rid of stress, that is, in moments of sadness, anger, and resentment. And in last years The life of a modern business woman has become more stressful and eventful stressful situations. To this should be added the birth of children, household chores, organization family life and even rivalry with her husband. Therefore, we can safely say that girls who smoke cigarettes have their own reasons for developing nicotine addiction.

Why did women start smoking a lot?

Consolation, a source of energy, reward - this is how the fair sex perceives cigarettes. For them, this is not just tobacco neatly wrapped in paper.

Why do women smoke? Because cigarettes are not just smoke saturated with nicotine, they are a friend and comrade, a confidant. And he comes in moments of loneliness, it’s so nice to share a bottle of good wine with him. For example, after breaking up with a loved one or in other life situations when there is no one to expect consolation from.

This attractive picture, because of which the girl starts and continues to smoke a lot, is in fact an illusion that long years created by advertising and marketing.

Sooner or later, any woman who smokes a lot thinks about quitting...

What should a girl do when this “soap bubble” bursts?

At some point, a cigarette stops bringing relief. But even in this situation, it is difficult to understand why women smoke a lot and continue to do so. After all, a cigarette no longer relaxes, it burdens and brings discomfort in every sense. Fortunately, at this moment many girls come to the conclusion that it’s time to start fighting this “ bad habit", and are looking for methods.

For more than 30 years, Allen Carr Centers around the world have provided treatment for nicotine addiction. Carr's method belongs to the category of psychotherapy, but at the same time it has striking differences from others. It does not involve the use of willpower, but eliminates the very desire to smoke.

Why do so many women still smoke? Because they use wrong methods. E-Sigs, nicotine patches, pills, nicotine replacement therapy or hypnosis do not produce the desired effect. They can even worsen the situation with nicotine addiction.

Why did women start smoking and can't stop? As Allen Carr himself says, the problem is not in the body, it is hidden in the head. Why do people smoke? Because they still believe that the cigarette gave them something valuable in good and bad times, despite all the negative aspects of smoking.

Give back what smoking stole from you - youth, beauty, health!

Why women smoke: there is always a choice

First of all, think about why you smoke. Are these reasons really worth poisoning your body, losing your beauty and youth? Think about what cigarettes give you in those few minutes while you inhale the smoke. Remember how ashamed and uncomfortable you were to light a cigarette in the company of non-smokers. Is it worth it? No!

Women and men have completely different ideas about smoking. However, there is only one reason for addiction to cigarettes - nicotine addiction, disease.

No creams, masks, or injections will help restore beauty and freshness while you continue to smoke. Come to our center and we will help you become a bright, successful, strong and, most importantly, cigarette-free woman again.

about the author

Alexander Fomin, Trainer-therapist at the Allen Carr Center in Russia

Alexander Fomin, a former smoker with 18 years of experience, is the first licensed specialist and chief consultant of the Allen Carr Center in the Russian Federation. Helped more than 10,000 compatriots quit smoking once and for all. He has 9 years of practice using the Allen Carr method and has successfully trained several new therapists in this method. He took part in editing and dubbing books in the series “ The Easy Way» publishing house "Good Book".

Click the lighter, take a deep drag, and painful problems fly away in rings of smoke. A stylish pack of cigarettes, a glamorous lighter, and a souvenir ashtray have become attributes of a woman’s image and lifestyle. Women smoke on the street, in the park, in cafes, on the playground, in the office, in the cinema and on billboards.

At the same time, doctors and public organizations urge women to give up this habit, citing statistical data on female mortality and oncology. We know that smoking is dangerous, but the amount smoking women continues to grow.

Smoking, which was considered a purely male activity, with the flourishing of women's emancipation became widespread in Europe, America, Russia and, gradually, throughout the world. Tobacco manufacturers, who receive billions in profits from the sale of tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, and accessories for their use, have developed and introduced a special subculture into all layers of society, which creates the image of a successful, strong, sexy hero.

Once exclusively male, smoking has become female

Well informed but stubborn

Only 35% of women quit smoking.

Unconscious motives and imposed stereotypes

• Firstly, this is a woman’s unconscious desire to compete with a man, realized in the development of “masculine” attributes and habits.
• Secondly, this is the implementation of styles and images introduced by tobacco company advertising - a successful and sexy woman “from the cover”.
• Thirdly, this is compensation for a complex of self-doubt, and the desire to control one’s life - through violating “prohibitions”.
• Fourthly, it is a way of responding to stress formed in childhood (during early weaning breastfeeding, or pacifier abuse).

The decision to quit smoking is a step towards improving the quality of life

How to quit smoking? Take the first step

1 First stage– study and acceptance of oneself. Here it is necessary to understand what exactly smoking tobacco does to the body and quality of life. It is important to realize how much internal ideas about yourself - appearance, state of health, attitude of others correspond to the actual state of affairs. To start? - just take a sheet of paper and fold it in half. On the one hand, describe your idea of ​​yourself, for example: “I am completely healthy,” “My skin looks amazing,” “My teeth are yellow, of course, but they can be whitened,” and so on. Then, on the second side, you need to describe as honestly as possible how you look at yourself through someone else’s eyes. “My husband doesn’t like the fact that I smell bad”; “I often go on sick leave - my boss is dissatisfied with me”; “I can’t explain to my son why I cough in the morning”; “I smoke 40 cigarettes a day”; "My lungs are filled with tar," "I can't get rid of excess weight", and so on. Without an objective look at yourself, you cannot go further. You can use a mirror, run behind the bus, call honest girlfriends, friends and parents for a frank conversation. When the information has been collected, unfold the sheet and begin self-analysis. The first stage makes it possible to understand yourself – your capabilities and limitations. Here we look at the facts, causes and consequences of smoking and the impact of cigarettes on life.

2 Second stage makes a choice - how to live further? At the second stage it is accepted important decision– a healthy, fulfilling life, or a lifelong sacrifice of oneself to the spirit of the tobacco leaf. If you have done a good job at the first stage, and the difference between what you want and what is actually there is obvious, the choice is obvious: “I’m quitting smoking!”

3 Third stage cleanses the body and thoughts. First of all, cigarettes, a lighter, an ashtray are solemnly thrown into the trash can, in front of the whole family. Once the decision has been made, it makes no sense to quit smoking by gradually reducing the number of cigarettes. Cleansing products will help you get rid of physical addiction herbal teas, bath, vitamins. As a last resort, treatment prescribed by a toxicologist, a nicotine patch or chewing gum. Psychotherapy sessions, hypnosis, meditation, new good habits. At this stage, it is important to immediately take up an active sport - running, cycling, skiing, tennis. Exercising will very quickly get your body in shape, cleanse your lungs and train your heart. Regular activity is best combined with contrast shower- he will restore immune system, will improve skin condition and vascular tone.

4 Fourth stage- improving the quality of life. Quitting smoking has already brought a lot of opportunities - free money and time. The body feels much better - lightness has appeared, attacks of weakness and dizziness have passed, shortness of breath and morning cough are no longer bothersome. Taste and smell became more acute, and men began to compliment her. This stage offers new opportunities – hobbies that you couldn’t afford before. For example, diving, skydiving, cycling, mountaineering. The desire to smoke will still arise - in moments of stress, sadness, or when there is nothing to do with yourself. Yoga and Qi Gong will help you cope with stress and bring your body and soul into balance. harmonious state. Instead of a cigarette - breathing exercises, Herb tea, walking the dog, and tennis with friends.

5 Fifth stage– a review of the past and an open look into the future. The ladder of change led to the goal - life has already become different. At the last stage - even if you try to take a puff out of curiosity - the cigarette becomes a source of discomfort. Acrid smoke, an unpleasant lingering odor from the fingers, an aftertaste and nausea - this is what actually does to healthy body cigarette. The fifth stage gives you the opportunity to highly appreciate yourself and your capabilities. An opportunity to feel strong and free. He is the one who controls himself and his life.

Text: Sofia Kremleva
Photo:EAST-NEWS

If previously it was mostly men who smoked, now the cigarette is becoming a companion all over the world. modern woman. Representatives of the fair sex believe that their problems go away with smoke rings. Stylish accessories for smoking they create an image of beauties. Girls with this bad habit can be found everywhere. Many people don’t even think about how huge it is for women.

The smoking girl is the ideal of the new generation

Despite warnings from the Ministry of Health, public organizations, and television advertising, the number of women smoking is growing every day. They are not afraid of mortality and oncological diseases. Knowing the consequences of the addiction, girls follow fashion and smoke, considering themselves independent, successful and sexy.

Advertising has no effect on stubborn women

The media is doing everything possible to show how enormous the harm of smoking is for women. 30% of Russian women took their first puff at the age of 12. Public organizations are simply shocked by these statistics. They do everything they can to let women lead. healthy image life. People with this habit are informed about what awaits them after indulging in cigarettes. The harm of smoking for women is enormous. It has been scientifically proven that this habit causes diseases of the cardiovascular system. Smoking provokes the development of hereditary diseases. Lung cancer predominantly affects smokers. Because of this bad habit, about half a million women die in developed countries.

Why do women smoke?

The reasons why women smoke may vary. But mainly the following are distinguished:

1. With the development of emancipation, representatives of the fair half of humanity adopt male habits.
2. Advertising imposes an image of sexy and happy woman with a cigarette in his hands.
3. The desire to hide your self-doubt and gain independence.
4. Smoking is a unique way of reacting to stressful situations.
5. Poor living conditions, life shocks, and an unsuccessful marriage force women to pick up a cigarette.
6. Many girls who smoke believe that it will be easier for them to meet the man of their dreams in this way.

What happens to women who smoke?

The effect of smoking on women is detrimental, it quickly changes them, and not in better side. A woman's skin begins to turn yellow and age due to lack of... nutrients. Rotten teeth brittle hair- consequences of a bad habit. You can recognize a smoker by unpleasant smell from mouth. He will be the first to be defeated viral diseases. The immunity of a girl who smokes is reduced, making it difficult for the body to fight infections. The state of health is gradually deteriorating, the strength is leaving. It becomes increasingly difficult to climb stairs due to shortness of breath. Full image life is hampered by acquired vegetative-vascular dystonia. Women who smoke have problems with their menstrual cycle.

Only 35% of all women with this bad habit decide to get rid of it. The rest are gradually destroying their lives. Because of this bad habit, not only the woman suffers, but also her children. Some women who smoke cannot conceive at all. They often have miscarriages, and many suffer from infertility.

What harmful substances are contained in cigarettes?

Quantity harmful substances in cigarettes reaches more than 4 thousand. One of the most dangerous carcinogens- resin. She is providing negative impact on the bronchi and lungs. It causes lung cancer, oral cavity and larynx. Because of this component, smokers begin to cough and develop chronic bronchitis.

Cigarettes contain many toxic gases. The greatest danger is posed by interacting with hemoglobin, carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen supplied to tissue cells. This is the cause of oxygen starvation.

Resin causes the death of smokers, leaving its particles in respiratory tract person. It causes cancer and other lung diseases. Due to the fact that the lungs lose their ability to filter, immunity decreases.

Amount of nicotine in cigarettes

Nicotine belongs to narcotic substances that stimulate the brain. It is addictive. If the dose is not constantly increased, it can lead to depression. Initially, nicotine excites, then depletes. As a result of its daily use, the heart rate increases and blood pressure rises. If you quit smoking, withdrawal symptoms will last 2-3 weeks. The person will become irritable and restless, and will have problems sleeping.

60 mg nicotine - lethal dose which can kill a person. How much nicotine is in a cigarette? Exactly 60 mg of this substance can be contained in 50 cigarettes. If you smoke them right away, it is inevitable. Despite the fact that a person does not smoke this amount, nicotine gradually destroys the body.

How much nicotine is in a cigarette? This figure varies. It depends on the brand of the manufacturer. Usually the amount of nicotine in one cigarette is indicated on the side of the pack. Depending on this, they have different softness and taste, depending on to varying degrees affect a person. A low level of nicotine is considered to be 0.3 mg in one piece. Most cigarettes contain 0.5 mg. There is also a dosage of 1.26 mg of nicotine. Domestic cigarettes contain more of this substance than their foreign counterparts.

The effect of smoking on pregnancy

Every sane woman should understand that she should not smoke during pregnancy. Girls with this bad habit give birth to weak, premature babies with low weight, who subsequently get sick more often. Getting used to nicotine in the womb, a little man in the future may become a heavy smoker with criminal tendencies.

The harm of smoking for women is already enormous, and even during pregnancy, it is generally destructive, especially for the child himself. Harmful toxic substances contained in cigarettes penetrate the placenta to the baby. The child receives more harmful substances than the smoking mother herself and experiences oxygen starvation. His delicate organs develop poorly. There is a risk of a poor pregnancy outcome. In rare cases, completely healthy babies are born. They often lose weight and lag behind in mental development. These children are often restless and hyperactive. These children are sometimes aggressive and deceptive. They have high risk manifestations of autism.

It should be noted that those who smoked during pregnancy may have children with facial clefts - cleft lip or

Children of such mothers are more likely than others to suffer from diabetes or obesity by the time they reach adulthood.

Boys born to mothers who smoke have smaller testicles. Their sperm count is 20% lower.

Children take bad examples from mothers who smoke. They develop bad habits earlier than their peers.

By quitting smoking, a beautiful lady can start new life, always remaining beautiful, young and happy. It's never too late to stop, you just have to want to.

– today this is a common occurrence on city streets. Unfortunately, this fact suggests that the symbol of femininity and purity, the symbol of the mother, is being lost. A cigarette in the mouth of a girl or woman looks at least funny, not to mention the harm it causes to the female body.

In this article, I bring to your attention a letter from Fyodor Grigorievich Uglov addressed to a smoking girl, and to all young people in general.

Uglov F.G. is a world-famous surgeon, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, doctor medical sciences. He was simply a great Russian man. He was the most senior practicing surgeon in the world. He was the chairman of the Union of Struggle for National Sobriety. He died at the age of 104.

So read on "Letter to a Smoking Girl"

I meet hundreds of your smoking peers on the streets. I have operated on hundreds of people for lung cancer. And hundreds - I didn’t make a mistake - I had to refuse hundreds, because nothing could be done... There is nothing more difficult for a surgeon than refusing to help a patient due to his own powerlessness. And more than once I had to admit my powerlessness when it came to saving the affected lungs and the lives of long-term smokers.

In recent years, a lot of women smokers have been admitted to operating tables. I'm not scaring you. Smoking is “voluntary”. Just since you have already started reading my letter, let me express your opinion so that later your despair does not tear my heart. The opinion of not only the surgeon (unfortunately, unable to clearly show you on these pages cancerous tumor, strangling the lungs), but also a person who knows the value of suffering.

Hundreds of people have passed through my hands and my heart, suffering precisely because they could not part with them in time. bad habit. The complaints are the same and begin with the phrase: “There’s something wrong with my lungs...” Once a good friend of mine turned to me with the same words. We agreed to meet, but he came only a few months later. When they cut him open on the operating table chest, it turned out that everything had already metastasized and nothing could be done to help him. It is difficult to find out that a patient is dying. It’s even harder that this is your close friend...

These lines addressed to you will contain facts and figures found by my like-minded people. But I, a surgeon, understand with particular clarity what is behind these numbers and percentages.

No, I will not scare you with the already banal examples that a drop of nicotine kills a horse - you are not a horse, you are a person, or that 20 cigarettes smoked daily shorten your life by 8-12 years; you are young, and life seems endless to you. According to British doctors, each cigarette smoked costs a smoker 15 minutes of life. It's not a big deal if you're only twenty. What does it matter to you that hardcore people get lung cancer 30 times more often than non-smokers, and the reason for this is terrible disease in 95-98 cases out of 100 - smoking. American cardiologists give the following figures: average age those who died from heart attacks are 67 years old, smokers are 47. You are only twenty years old, and you still have until forty-seven... Of course, this will not scare you. And still…

With great chagrin, I see girls smoking near the school, holding a cigarette in their fist (as they say, “in the pioneer way”) so that they cannot be seen from the windows. I regret to learn that they learned by taking the teacher as a model.

Pain grips my soul from the fact that in the student dormitory the girls are going to smoke and chat about their future marriage. I can admit that marriage is not yet visible in your plans. And so I’ll tell you about something else.

Sociologists conducted an anonymous questionnaire in which they asked: why do you smoke? 60 percent of girls answered: it is beautiful and fashionable. And 40 percent smoke because they want boys to like them. Let's say. And we will even “justify” them in some ways. Because the desire to be liked is inherent in you by nature. But let’s justify it temporarily: it’s useful to know the boys’ opinions as well.

256 young men were interviewed. They were offered three questions and, accordingly, three answer options: positive, indifferent, negative.

Question one:
“Girls in your company smoke. How do you feel about this? - 4% positive, 54% indifferent, 42% negative.
Question two:
“The girl you’re friends with smokes. How do you feel about this? - 1% positive, 15% indifferent, 84% negative.
Question three:
“Would you like your wife to smoke?” - Storm of protests! Out of 256, only two answered that they did not care. The rest categorically objected.

Now let's think together. Your surgery is a long way off. You're not going to get married. Everything is fine, and you are smoking. Where did this come from? In my opinion, people smoke in groups where they gather to have fun. A cigarette in your hands is like a signal: you are modern. This means that you treat both love and friendship with a considerable amount of frivolity.

Boys with smoking girls behave more relaxed, and girls, in their naivety, believe that they are successful, hardly thinking that they are temporary fun. Yes, yes, you smoking girl- temporary fun. It seems to me that when you smoke, you cheapen yourself, humiliate your dignity, becoming not modern in the true sense of the word, but rather frivolous and more accessible. Who instilled in you the “fashionability” of this terrible habit? Who programmed you to do an activity in which your youth does not allow you to see the whole catastrophe that awaits you?

Don’t be angry, but I’ll try to draw your future as it seems to me. And if you doubt this, look around, look at older women smoking.

Smoking will make your voice hoarse, your teeth will gradually turn black and deteriorate. The face will take on an earthy tint. Your sense of smell will suffer sharply and deteriorate taste sensations. You've probably already noticed how often smokers spit. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that there’s a constant smell coming from a smoker’s mouth... This smell is so unpleasant that don’t be surprised if one of the guys you know avoids you. You will wake up with a bitter taste in your mouth and a headache from coughing all night. Very early on, your facial skin will become wrinkled and dry. Women smokers at 25 look much older than their non-smoking peers. This is the real price of your smoking! You will not attract, but, on the contrary, you will repel any serious guy.

Try to imagine yourself next to a non-smoking peer. And if this comparison doesn’t scare you or you don’t see the difference between you, let me tell you that your appearance- this is not yet the main indicator.

The sooner you start smoking, the more dangerous the effects of poison are for you. And if you become addicted to smoking long before you start age-related changes, then the development of the organism will proceed more slowly. Under the influence of nicotine, persistent contraction occurs blood vessels(the oxygen content in the blood decreases due to the combination of hemoglobin in the blood with carbon monoxide- one of the components of tobacco smoke). When smoking under the influence high temperature tobacco releases 30 harmful substances: nicotine, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and various essential oils. Among them, benzopyrene is especially dangerous - it is a 100% carcinogen (“cancer” - in Latin - cancer).

If you are curious, you may be interested in the data of American researchers. They found significant amounts of polonium-210, which emits alpha particles, in tobacco smoke. If you smoke one personally, you will receive a radiation dose seven times greater than that established by the international agreement on radiation protection.

Nicotine is a drug. That's the only way he's called supreme body world medicine - World Health Organization. And this means that every year it will be more and more difficult for you. Tobacco, by constricting blood vessels, not only causes increased work of the heart, but also worsens and destroys the activity of many body systems.

You lit a cigarette... Then everything follows a long-known pattern. Nicotine on a short time causes dilation of blood vessels, increasing blood supply to brain cells. This is followed by a sharp spasm of blood vessels, resulting in various brain disorders. Further. Nicotine disrupts function nervous system, lungs, liver, digestive organs, gonads.

It has been irrefutably proven: you will get sick three to four times more often than your non-smoking friends. The time will inevitably come when you will feel bad and constant illness will turn your life into a burden.

But let's talk about something else. Maybe you will be interested to know that women suffer heavily from smoking due to the more delicate structure of the body, which by nature is designed for procreation. Facts have long been known that indicate that heavy smokers cannot give birth to children, since profound changes have occurred in the embryonic apparatus. The most a common complication caused by smoking is premature termination of pregnancy - up to 36 weeks. It happens twice as often in smokers. It doesn't hurt you to know that women who smoke are much more likely to have prematurity and lower birth weight of their newborn (yes, the newborn, your baby, which you probably don't think about, but your smoking will affect its viability). Smokers have a higher percentage of stillborn children and more often pathologies during childbirth. And there is an undoubted fact - smoking has an extremely negative effect on the development of an already born child. Knowing this, it makes sense to think about marriage, about a husband who will be waiting for a son, but there may not be a son... And the day may come when doctors tell you: “Unfortunately, you will never be able to give birth.”

It's hard for you to understand now. But my experience suggests hundreds of such cases. The critical moment is imperceptibly approaching, after which she can no longer give birth, although for the sake of this she is ready to do anything, for any operations, for any sacrifices. And believe me, you will not be an exception: nature created you to be a mother. And no matter how you swagger today, she will force you to live in the interests of the children.

Believe me, a cigarette can ruin your life. Yours first. And when they prove to you that smoking is to blame for everything, you will curse both yourself and your whole life. Think about not having children. And your husband can leave you. He will go to someone less worthy than you, just for the right to be called a father. Believe me, he can do this, because fatherly feelings are no less strong than motherly ones.

And if you smoke while pregnant, then know that the experiment has established: as soon as a pregnant woman lights up, within a few minutes nicotine enters (through the placenta) into the heart and brain of the unborn child. And with this poison you unwittingly poison him. Scientists have traced the developmental features of children born to mothers. These children, observed until the age of 5-6, were significantly behind in their physical and mental development. By the way, among children whose fathers are heavy smokers, developmental defects are twice as likely to be observed.

And your child will be sick all the time. Both pneumonia and bronchitis await him. In desperation you will look for reasons, not knowing that they are in you. Even if you smoked in the corridor, on landing- even a tiny amount of smoke entering the room will be enough for your child to suddenly develop a fever.

One hundred percent of children of smoking mothers smoke. And your child, who regards you as the smartest, most affectionate, kindest, seeing you with a cigarette, will also start smoking. This means that you have programmed him in advance for the same torment that awaits you.

My experience suggests a terrible case involving teenage smoking. In one of the boarding schools they could not wake up the boy in the morning. He died at night. An autopsy showed that he had a bad heart - because he learned to smoke early, smoked a lot, and on the eve of his death, as the guys said, he smoked “to his fill.”

In families where parents smoked but then stopped, 67 percent of boys and 78 percent of girls nevertheless start smoking.

I noticed a long time ago, near shopping centers, markets and other places where people gather, you can always see women and girls smoking on the sidelines, and in numbers far superior to the male smoking community, why does this happen? It seems that now the number of women smoking is rapidly approaching the number of men smoking, and the male part of the population is now, on the contrary, trying to quit, and those who do not smoke are not going to start.

Unfortunately, throughout the history of the tobacco industry, it has always been women main goal tobacco manufacturers, this is especially noticeable in advertising; by entering “cigarette advertising” in Yandex, you can see for yourself, 90 percent of advertising posters use the image of a smoker beautiful girl. Some may say that this is to attract men, but then why depict a girl smoking?

Nowadays, the tobacco industry mainly uses psychoanalysis to attract new clients, but at the beginning of the century psychoanalysis was used for these purposes in order to get women hooked on cigarettes.

The owners of the tobacco industry, which experienced rapid growth in the first two decades of the 20th century, were well aware that women made up half of their potential customers. It was clear that cigarettes should no longer be just male product. At the same time, cigarette manufacturers feared that their attempts to force smoking on women could cause public protest. Advertisers and marketers understood that for smoking to become a truly mainstream habit, it was necessary to change the culture. Beginning with the 1928 American Tobacco advertising campaign, “Choose Lucky over Sweet.”

(Lucky - from the name of the cigarette brand Lucky Strike), cigarette advertising for women was associated with style and beauty. Cigarettes have become more than just an accessory beautiful woman, but turned into a symbol of style as such. Moreover, in the 1920s and 1930s, this style was associated with the struggle of women for equal social and political rights with men. A big role was played by the fact that women’s smoking became an attribute of the “good life” - the fruit of American consumer culture. Advertising images suggested that cigarettes are a symbol of chic, beauty, independence and equality.

President of American TobaccoGeorge Washington Hillbelieved that mass advertising is only one of the marketing tools. For marketing to be effective, it is necessary to use additional technologies. Hill invitedEdward Bernays nephew of Sigmunt Freud. Bernays' work at American Tobacco illustrates new approach to promotion. In 1929, he wrote a public relations program for American Tobacco. " Educational work", according to Bernays, was supposed to help deal with the criticism that Hill's advertising campaigns were constantly attacked, as well as convince consumers that smoking is not dangerous to health.

Bernays also shared ideas with Hill on how to "improve customer perception of Lucky Strike and increase sales." For example, he suggested publishing news articles in the press that would talk about cigarettes, women, beauty and smoking accessories, as well as photographs on these topics: “These will be feature articles for fashion magazines, which will talk about the fact that every An elegant woman should have a cigarette case and cigarette holder in addition to her toilet. Photos will be attached to the articles. Propaganda will be woven into the article...” This doesn’t remind you of anything...

Bernays noted that in the 1920s, slimness became fashionable, so advertising claimed that Lucky Strike cigarettes would help you stay in good shape. Enlisting the help of fashionable Parisian fashion designers and photographers, Bernays sent hundreds of photographs of thin models in couture clothes to the press.

To enhance the effect, he attracted doctors to his side who wrote articles about harmful influence sugar on the body. Bernays, without mentioning his ties to American Tobacco, organized a conference on the evolution of the ideal of beauty. The artists who came to the conference argued that “the American ideal of beauty is a slender woman.” Bernays also conducted a poll - a quick and flawed poll of public opinion. In his hands, the survey was not a means of researching public opinion, but an instrument for its formation. This time Bernays won the favor of department store managers: a survey showed that having slim figure more profitable than full. “According to this Lucky Strike survey,” stated Bernays’ press release, “a slim and fashionably dressed saleswoman earns for herself and her employer more money than her overweight friends.”

March of smokers

Hill began looking for new, more aggressive methods to change public opinion about women's smoking and create mass demand for cigarettes among women. Bernays recalled: “Hill called me: ‘How can we get women to smoke in the street? They smoke at home. But damn most time they spend outside the home, we are losing half the market, we have to force them to smoke outside. Do something. Take action!”

Feminist invites her to take part in New York's Easter Sunday parade Ruth Hale: "Women! Light another torch of freedom! Break another sexual taboo!

Young women marched down Fifth Avenue, a spectacular symbol of emancipated girls and fierce suffragettes. Their feat was reported in many newspapers, resulting in a wave of national debate. Women's clubs condemned the disappearance of unspoken prohibitions on public smoking women, feminists welcomed the changes social norms. Reports of women smoking outside came from all over the country. Bernays wrote: “I realized that long-standing customs could be destroyed through a bright, dramatic appeal disseminated by the media.”

Green light

Bernays quickly realized the impact cigarettes in a film could have on the viewer. Bernays knew that films could shape cultural stereotypes and consumer desires long before “product placement” became a major means of marketing and promotion.

He wrote (anonymously, of course) an article addressed to directors and producers, in which he examined a number of dramatic episodes that could be performed using a cigarette: “The cigarette becomes the main actor in a silent scene or in a conversation. With its help you can express so much meaning that cannot be expressed in words.”

Bernays compiled a list of situations in films when a cigarette could be used. He argued that, by operating with a cigarette, one can depict Various types personalities and different emotions. With the help of a cigarette you can create numerous psychological images. The shy hero lights a cigarette to pull himself together before his first meeting with his future father-in-law. The criminal smokes voraciously to calm his nerves or conscience. But perhaps the most dramatic scenes are those in which the cigarette is not lit. How much meaning can be expressed in a scene when a smoker is too excited to light a cigarette! A player who has lost his last thousand dollars in a casino takes out a cigarette with trembling hands, which falls to the floor - we understand that he is in despair. A deceived husband, abandoned by a heartless wife, reaches for a cigarette, but drops the pack, which indicates that he is lost. The enraged swindler, deceived by his partner, angrily breaks the cigarette, as if it were the body and soul of his former friend, on whom he had thus taken revenge. A cigarette placed in the hands or mouth of a good actor can become an exponent of meaning in any genre, from a funny comedy to a heartfelt tragedy.