A new report about from the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids, an advocacy group fighting tobacco use, shows that despite what Virginia Slims might say, women and girls haven't come very far at all, at least when it comes to sexism and tobacco. Among other things, the report shows that tobacco companies are experiencing a resurgence in specifically targeting women, and even more alarmingly, girls, through pink packaging, marketing tie-ins with other women's products, and advertising geared towards women and girls. What are some of the most obvious examples?
The "purse pack", a pack of cigarettes designed to look like a purse.
Camel No. 9, a pack designed to throw back to the perfume Chanel No. 9
We all know that smoking is bad for everyone's health, but why is it so offensive that tobacco companies are specifically targeting women? To answer that question, we have to look at the effects of smoking on a woman's body versus a man's body. On nearly every marker of health, smoking affects women's bodies in much worse ways than it effects men's bodies. Which means that when tobacco companies are targeting girls and women, they're knowingly pushing a product that is more dangerous and deadly to our gender. Here's just a few examples -
Since 1987, lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
Female smokers are twice as likely to have cervical cancer than non-smokers
Female smokers have increased risk of heart disease, especially if they are also taking birth control pills
Teenage girls who smoke have decreased lung growth, and begin to lose lung function in early adulthood
Older women who smoke are at much greater risk of bone loss and osteoperosis
Smoking is far more devastating on women's reproductive health than men's - it can cause fertility problems, increased complications during menopause, and even pregnant women who have quit smoking are at a greater risk for stillbirth, miscarriage, and other problems with fetal growth
Smoking may make eating disorders more difficult to recover from
Watch the video about the report below, then go download it and read for yourself. Then think about how far we've (not) come, baby.
I was under the impression that the VS "purse packs" were not designed to look like a purse, as much as have a more compact design, and fit into a small and/or crowded purse better. Hardly the point, but I thought I'd throw that in there for the sake of clarification. (Also, why they'd introduce that packaging when gigantic purse-strosities are all the rage, I have no idea.)
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I was under the impression that the VS "purse packs" were not designed to look like a purse, as much as have a more compact design, and fit into a small and/or crowded purse better. Hardly the point, but I thought I'd throw that in there for the sake of clarification. (Also, why they'd introduce that packaging when gigantic purse-strosities are all the rage, I have no idea.)
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