WOMEN SMOKERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 3, 14 January 1942, Page 8

WOMEN SMOKERS

TIMES HAVE CHANGED

COMPARISON WITH LAST WAR

During the last war, women who walked into tobacconists' to buy tobacco and cigarettes were looked at with raised eyebrows. No doubt they often hesitated before taking the bold step of entering the shop and speaking forth their demand. Probably some of them went out again with the feeling that to be a pioneer lacked any satisfaction and was merely lyBut to-day, with another war in progress, women enter tobacconists' every day as a matter of course. To-day many women smoke as heavily as men. They think nothing of it. Whakatane tobacconists told a Beacon reporter that they had regular women customers who came in every day for their day's quota of cigarettes —from one to four packets. There was a number of women who bought the tobacco, and rolled their own cigarettes. Supplies for Forces Although there had been an increase in the number of women customers since the beginning of the war, this was accounted for by the fact that many women bought supplies to send to the forces overseas. Tobacconists did not appear to think that women Avere smoking more heavily because cf the war, but as customers they were noticed more because of the decrease in the population. Luxury lines in tobacco and cigarettes are now not available, and to-day practically all the p'opular brands are packed in New Zealand. Previously staple lines were tobacco and cigarettes packed in Great Britain. To-day, therefore, it is often the woman who does not smoke who is the oddity. So far, however, Whakatane tobacconists, although they have sold pipes to women, da not oelieve any of these were for their ■ own use. But, even so, times have changed since a buclict of water was thrown over Sir Walter Raleigh for daring to introduce the heathen idea of smoking tobacco. The aristocrat} took it up and gradually the habit took a hold—first, with the male population, until to-day when Whakatane tobacconists have women customers of all ages every day.