Women smoking cigarettes was more or less invented by advertising companies (and in particular by one man who managed it single-handedly). Women hardly smoked at all in the early 20th C until the tobacco industry paid a spin-doctor to make it look like emancipated strong women all smoked (the term 'torches of freedom' was invented, as was the concept of smoking being better for one than sweets). The spin-doctor gathered debutantes to walk through NYC smoking and advertised it as a demonstration of feminism. It was all completely manipulated to sell cigarettes. And sell cigarettes they did. In their millions.
I no longer smoke. But I have to say, for the record, that all these women in the 30s and 40s looked incredibly sexy with cigarettes in their hands.
As the above poster alludes, cigarettes in culture are closely tied to advertising. Some people realize this, and become alienated from them. I, on the other hand, love it. You might as well consider capitalism my religion, and cigarette ads are some of the best of all time. What I'm getting to here is, the adverts which glorify cigarettes - those Virginia killin' sticks - are perfectly successful! They make them look cool. And when any one of these girls smokes on screen, (or off!), it's hot! For example, check out any of the gals on Mad Men ('scpecially the department store owner in the first season!).
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