Cigarette smoking became popular among women after it did among men; smoking prevalence has always been lower among women than among men. The gender-specific difference in smoking prevalence narrowed between 1965 and 1985. Since 1985, the decline in prevalence has been comparable among women and men.
Smoking prevalence among women increased from less than 6% in 1924 to 34% in 1965 and then declined to 22% to 23% in the late 1990s.
Source: Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General—2001 |
