Oncologists in city are dismayed over number of women taking up smoking just to show they are equal to men; women say it’s a fashion statement
When my husband’s friend came over, he did not even ask me if I would smoke. He simply offered it to my husband and told me that you are a woman, how can you smoke? That was that. I took that as an insult.” That was how Namratha (name changed to protect identity) replied when an oncologist asked the 30-year-old woman why she took to smoking. For the record, Namratha walked into the hospital with symptoms of throat cancer.
The doctor in question was taken aback, but most oncologists in city say most women take to smoking to show they are equal, not the usual excuses like stress or the urge to light it up.
Dr Vishal Rao consultant, Head and Neck surgery, HCG Cancer care, says, “Most women start smoking because they want to have a feeling of empowerment. A majority of them are in senior positions and have broken boundaries and stereotypes. The bane of smoking is here to stay because women think it as a statement and matter of equality. It’s absolutely necessary to make them understand to quit early.
No surprises, a few surveys show the number of female smokers has gone up considerably in Karnataka. A recent study showed that women in Karnataka spend nearly Rs 218 crore annually to undergo treatment for tobacco-related diseases. Globally too, the number of female smokers is rising rapidly. Quoting a 2013 study in Karnataka, Rao says a considerable percentage of boys think “women who smoke are bold”. Another study, he says, indicated about 20-40 per cent of girls in state use tobacco in PUCs.
Other experts too believe smoking among women goes up because of their urge to break the ceiling.
Dr Vivek Benegal, Professor of Psychiatry, Department of addiction medicine, Nimhans said, “Women initiate the habit because they want to break the glass ceiling and want to be equal with men. Who smoked were women who were socially superior.”
Another expert says some women think it’s a way to reduce weight. Says psycho oncologist Dr Brinda Sitaram, “It starts with empowerment. Of course emancipation means freedom from a whole bunch of things. Just because they have constraints, they want to break through. Most advertisements show a man smoking and not women which again gives them the notion that it may harm more men than women. Some married women say it was their spouses who introduced them to smoking.”
Dr Pratima Murthy, professor of psychiatry, Nimhans has another take. “It starts with peer pressure and then it becomes a fashion statement,” Murthy says. “I was against it initially, but then realised that it would make me look strong and bold. It was not because I wanted to feel empowered or equal to men, but largely because it would be a great fashion statement,” says Monica Khanna (name changed), an event manager.
WHAT STUDIES TELL
Women in Karnataka spend nearly Rs 218 crore annually to undergo treatment for tobacco-related diseases
A considerable percentage of boys think “women who smoke are bold”
About 20-40 per cent of girls in state use tobacco in PUCs
Other experts too believe smoking among women goes up because of their urge to break the ceiling
