Take a stroll down College Row or relax on the steps of Olin, and you might be surprised by the number of women you see smoking. While studies have shown that the number of women smokers trying to quit has increased over the past few years, the number of current women smokers in the nation has not, which is one reason Visiting Psychology Professor Jennifer Rose has dedicated the better part of twenty years to investigating the smoking habits of women.
Last Wednesday Rose presented her findings on the different categories of women smokers and the most effective means of helping them to quit. Rose identified three categories of women smokers: “Happy Working Women,” “Careless College Students,” and “Hooked and Unhappy.” Female smokers on campus fall into her “Careless College Students” category. According to Rose, the women in this category do not like to be told that their habit is an addiction, as they are at a state in their lives when their future health is not so important.
One smoker, Francesca Geiger ’07, supported Rose’s claim, saying that most students are aware of the risks.
“You think you’re resilient,” Geiger said. “It’s not something you don’t know; it’s just something you don’t want to think about right now.”
Geiger began smoking in high school, a time in her life when she was very active in basketball and other sports.
“Although it did give me a bit of a cough and definitely slowed me down on court, I made up for it in other ways,” she said. “Because I am so tall and big, I made up for my slowness by scoring a basket once I got down court. I guess you could say I used my body as an excuse.”
Professor Rose also discussed young women’s anger at being told that they have an addiction.
Erin Moore ’07 suggested that, for some women, smoking involved rejecting the norms and expectations of society.
“I think that a lot of women smoke because smoking for women is about rejecting what it means to be feminine,” Moore said. “Femininity is associated with purity, cleanliness, and lack of toxins, and a woman who smokes is the exact opposite.”
A freshman smoker admitted that she would quit smoking if any serious health problems occurred, but she otherwise was not planning on quitting anytime soon. She admits that she probably should cut down on her smoking habits, but cites the social aspects of smoking as one of her main incentives not to quit.
“Especially as a freshman, it helps in social situations,” she said. “It’s weird enough being alone at a party, but if you have a cigarette, it’s less awkward. It also gives you a reason to leave really bad or boring parties because you have to go outside to smoke.”
Megan Lollie ’07 agreed that smoking is an important social aspect of the campus.
“When I’m here, it’s a big part of my life,” Lollie said. “It’s all around you, so you are constantly presented with smoking, which I don’t think is something that happens as much in the real world.”
Geiger expressed similar feelings, stating that she was also fully aware of the dangers.
“It’s not something you don’t know,” she said. “I mean, hello, I have the pack in front of me and I can just as easily read the little surgeon general’s warning on the back to learn about all the bad things that cigarettes can do to me…It’s a risk I’m willing to take now.”
Moore further expressed the difficulties of defending herself in such situations.
“When someone tells you that you are addicted, it’s very frustrating trying to convince them that you’re not,” she said. “You are getting involved in objective discourse that automatically guarantees that if you smoke, you’re addicted.”
It is also interesting to note the dichotomy between the quitting dates that senior and freshman smokers set for themselves. While the freshman claimed that she would like to quit soon, preferably after this semester, the seniors have not set such permanent dates.
“I think if I were to quit, then it would have to be at a time in my life when I want to make a big change, like getting a drastic haircut,” Moore said. “It really would be a break with something I’m very accustomed to, and I’m not yet ready for that.”
“I don’t see any reason to stop smoking now,” Lollie said. “I have sort of told myself not to smoke while I’m pregnant, so I guess I’ll quit when I have kids, because I don’t want to put their health into danger.”
Geiger admitted that she feels that smoking is just a “college thing.”
“My parents and I have been talking, and I feel like once I’m out of college, I’ll probably make a greater effort to stop smoking,” she said.
As for now, most of the girls have confirmed that they plan to continue smoking until they feel that it is time to give it up. This complacent attitude seems to match Rose’s categorization of the “Careless College Students.” These women, while somewhat concerned with their own well- being, seem to lack both the time and the incentive to worry, as of now, about long-term health.
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