Cigarettes are a popular way to socialize, but for many women, it can be difficult to feel comfortable in these settings. As a result, many women have turned to cigars as an alternative. The desire to smoke is one of the main reasons why smokers find it difficult to quit, and stress and sensory cues can trigger this urge. Research suggests that women experience a stronger desire than men in response to stress, but men may respond better to environmental cues.
Longitudinal data from international surveys conducted in four industrialized countries indicated that men and women did not differ in terms of their desire to quit smoking, their plans to quit smoking, or their attempts to quit smoking. However, women were 31 percent less likely to successfully quit smoking. One of the reasons women may have difficulty quitting smoking is weight gain after quitting smoking. This should be addressed in behavioral counseling and complementary treatments for all smokers. Far from alienating men, smoking cigars is a ritual that can unite women with each other and with the men in their lives.
Increasingly, more and more professional women are smoking cigars as a way to relieve stress at the end of the day. While the association between men and cigars in American culture is strong, the bond between women and cigars is shrouded in mystery. Women have been smoking tobacco for centuries, and it's not uncommon to find a woman who smokes cigars around this time. The number of women cigar smokers is constantly increasing, as evidenced by Diana Silvius-Gits who is part of the board of directors of the United States Conquests Association and was president of Retail Tobacco Dealers of America, Inc. Ross points out that many women have very different memories of their childhood and adolescence related to cigarettes.
It wasn't just that it was acceptable for women to smoke, but doctors believed that there was a special relationship between women's health and tobacco, and they often prescribed hand-rolled cigars and tobacco pipes to their female patients. When it comes to quitting smoking, varenicline is more effective in the short and immediate term (at 3 and 6 months) among female smokers. Market research conducted in the late 1980s determined that women accounted for one-tenth of one percent of the total cigarette market in the United States. These smoking clubs were a place for progressive women to meet to network, socialize and exercise their power. In Tsai's view, the United States has also taken longer to accept women cigar smokers in the business context. Sánchez says that the many women who smoked tobacco that she met when she worked in Florida avoided cigarettes, which were more socially acceptable, and did everything possible to smoke the cigars they preferred.
For this reason, cigars were accessories for women who staged their sexuality in public: gypsies, actresses and prostitutes.
