Worldwide, tobacco use among girls is increasing, and the differences in smoking rates between girls and boys are not as large as one might expect. In 14 percent of countries covered by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), more girls than boys smoke cigarettes. Within the Western Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Mediterranean regions, boys and girls are equally likely to use tobacco products other than cigarettes. As with males, the overwhelming majority of female smokers become addicted to tobacco before reaching adulthood.

The factors that increase the risk of girls smoking are broadly similar to those of boys: tobacco industry marketing; easy access to tobacco products; low prices; peer pressure; tobacco use and approval by peers, parents, and siblings; and the misperception that smoking enhances social popularity. In cultures where women are subjected to unrealistic body image ideals, girls and young women may initiate smoking or rationalize their addiction in the mistaken belief that smoking assists with weight loss. In fact, cigarette smoking is not associated with a lower BMI (body mass index) in young women. Smoking prevention and cessation programs designed for girls and young women may benefit from the inclusion of counseling related to body image.

Ninety percent of youth worldwide agree that smoking does not make girls more attractive.

The difference in current cigarette smoking rates between boys and girls is smaller than the difference between men and women, suggesting that adult female smoking prevalence rates are likely to increase.

Common Reasons Young Women Start Smoking

• Global trends in women’s emancipation
• Concern with weight, body image, and fashion
• Cigarette marketing campaigns targeting women
• Positive images of smoking in movies, magazines, and youth culture
• Perceived improvement in economic status
• Drug-positive subcultures

Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
Protect people from tobacco smoke
Offer help to quit tobacco use
Warn about the dangers of tobacco
Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
Raise taxes on tobacco

Building on the first-ever global public health treaty - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 issued a comprehensive country-level report on the global tobacco epidemic. This report provides data from 179 countries covering 99% of the world’s population and sets baselines for implementation and enforcement of the six evidence-based and cost-effective policies of the WHO MPOWER strategy. Currently only 5% of the world’s population is fully protected by any one of the MPOWER interventions and no country implements and enforces all of them. By taking action to implement MPOWER, the leaders of governments and civil society can create the necessary environment to protect children from tobacco, help people quit tobacco use and save millions of lives a year.

The final version of the online Tobacco Atlas will have information on MPOWER steps related to the issues portrayed on each map.