For the first time in history teenage girls are lighting up more than boys in Canada, indicating a major shift from the global trend of higher smoking rates among men than women.

And, with the tremendous stress tobacco-related illness places on the health care system it is important to consider the role of gender as it pertains to tobacco use and health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines gender as "socially-determined norms and roles for each sex" which help provide the "social explanation for sex-linked patterns of tobacco use." For example, females are more likely to smoke to control their weight, which is why the tobacco industry often uses seductive images of slimness, and sexual allure to target young women. In comparison, smoking amongst males is more often linked to the gendered stereotype of being strong and robust which is enticed by ads portraying wealth, power and sexual success. Women also often smoke as a means of coping with negative feelings about themselves. This is not surprising given that there is a strong association reported between smoking and depression and women suffer double the rate of depression compared to men. Recent research shows female tobacco addiction may be caused more by the sensory and social context than nicotine itself. These findings may explain why women struggle with quitting more than men and why the patch proves to be more effective for men than women. Yale researchers have also recently discovered that financial difficulties affect women's ability to quit more so than men. And, with women in general having less disposable income and more likely to be single parents this can have profound negative consequences on children's health as well. Tobacco is a major culprit in the development of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and infertility for both sexes. However, women face the additional threats of premature labour, abnormal fetal development, low birth-weight infants, reproductive disorders, cervical and breast cancer, osteoporosis and early menopause. And, sadly the risk of these health troubles is on a dangerous rise amongst today's young women.

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