“Very Light” Smoking Appears Popular Among Young Women: Study

“Very light” smoking, defined as smoking five or fewer cigarettes a day, appears to be popular among young women, a new study concludes.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin examined data from almost 9,800 women ages 18 to 25, and found about 30 percent were current smokers. Among these women, 62 percent were very light smokers, 27 were light smokers, and 11 percent were heavier smokers. About 71 percent of very light smokers were intermittent smokers, meaning they did not smoke every day.

Very light smokers were much more likely to be intermittent smokers, to be from a minority group, and to have some college education, HealthDay reports. The findings appear in Preventing Chronic Disease.

The researchers note the tobacco industry attempts to associate smoking with independence, attractiveness and sophistication—“traits that are especially likely to appeal to young women,” they wrote. “To meet the challenge of the tobacco industry, smoking intervention programs and policies directed at emerging-adult women need to be based on an understanding of the diverse characteristics–demographic, psychological, behavioral, and attitudinal — associated with very light smoking in this population.”

Very light smoking among young women is a concern because emerging adulthood is the period when most types of risky behavior is highest, the researchers said. “In addition to increased risk for cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, cigarette use poses unique health consequences for women,” they wrote. “Women in emerging adulthood are of reproductive age, and cigarette use before or during pregnancy poses threats to maternal and child health. Women smokers are at increased risk for delays in conceiving, infertility, and pregnancy-related disorders as well as cancer of the cervix.”