考研阅读精选：女性吸烟多于男性<br />

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Women smoking have overtaken men

  Women smoking - they've overtaken men in the habit in the north east  partly because of influences on girls which are 'more insidious than  mere peer pressure'.
　 Their survey has just found that women  smokers now outnumber men in the region, which according to Dr Andrew  Russell of the uni's Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilienceis globally  rare. Stress and its worsening by recession almost certainly play a  part, but why more on women? What other causes may there be? Andrew  Russell.
A public discussion tomorrow, Tuesday, organised  by the institute and Durham city's Forum for Health hopes to make some  progress in finding out. It's being held at the Dales Suite, Collingwood  College, Durham University and organisers are looking for leads to new  empirical studies, as well as giving their own opinions and hearing  others.
Here's what Dr Russell says in advance:
  "Men's smoking rates have declined dramatically over the past few years  in the north east and now appear to be lower than the national average.  Women's have not declined nearly so fast - they appear to have  plateaued at a level higher than the national average.”
     “Smoking rates are highest in areas of greatest economic deprivation and  also go up in times of recession.We need to consider whether for some  women, smoking is a response to stress in their lives,one of the few  'pleasures' that are relatively easily acquired.”
    "but the  tobacco industry has had a large part to play in encouraging more women  to take up smoking by perpetuating the myth of smoking as glamorous,  risqué and a form of defiance.New brands come out all the time  specifically aimed at women."
    "We're proposing a cross-cultural  study looking at women's relationship to tobacco in other societies in  order to understand how best to tackle the situation in the North East  of England. I'll be outlining my plans at the meeting."
    His  colleague Dr Sue Lewis has meanwhile specialised on trying to find out  why women and girls are getting the habit so young. She says:
     "We need to understand the particular issues faced by young smokers –  and those trying not to be smokers – in disadvantaged communities; what  particular pressures they faced when they started smoking, what factors  encouraged continued smoking and what makes it particularly difficult to  quit. ”