WOMEN WHO SMOKE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2391, 28 December 1899, Page 56

WOMEN WHO SMOKE.

.Lady Jeune, writing in the Lady's Realm on this subject says the habit of smoking, which is so common abroad^ has now be- 1 come, among many women in England^ quite as naftiral a thing, and it is not in the least unusual for cigarettes to be handed round in the draAving room after the women have gonr upstairs and left tine mea to drink their Avine and eat their dessert. Hitherto it has been mainly confined to the house, and even the bedroom or boudoir, but within the last two months two cases of Avomen smoking in public have come under my notice. One day in the Strand a Avoman, young and pretty, was seen Avalking and quietly smoking a cigarette, and on another occasion in Richmond Park a woman Avas enjoying a fairly large cigar Avith her male companion. These are only isolated cases, but they excite little or no comment, and it seems an indication of a change of sentiment and public opinion on the subject of women smoking.

The custom of smoking after dinner among men has diminished the amount of wine that is drunk to a very marked extent, and has, no doubt, been beneficial in, many ways ; but it has not affected women in that way, as few Avomen take much" Avine after their meals. It may be an insular prejudice ; but/ there is no doubt that the practice of women smoking has not found favour here. To begin with, " the class of women who ape t!he manners and customs of men is small, and recruited from those whom we should hardly call typical of what is best and highest among them. But they unfortunately belong to a class to whom the disagreeable word "smart" is applied, and therefore they, to a certain extent, govern public opinion and lead it, and many other women, of them*selves amiable and harmless enough, consider it "smart" to imitate a class which' they look on as giving the tone to society. Whether smoking Avill ever become general among women is doubtful ; but ifc is a curious fact that the lower classes of waff men, who once smoked enortnously, have entirely abandoned it, while the- better and higher ones are again adopting it. There are many joeojple now. alive who tememjiaK

the old Irish and Scotch women who smoked small black pipes, but who have now entirely disappeared, their place being taken by the " elegante," who smokes her cigarettes with the greatest sangfroid. Lady 'Jeune confesses to being old-fashioned Enough to regret the fact that Englishwomen have taken to smoking. It seems a selfish custom, and the suggestion of a want of cleanliness is one that is ever before us. The smell of stale smoke which haunts the clothes and hair for days is not a fragrant one, and we cannot help feeling that as the habit grows on a woman she becomes still more" careless as to the effect it has on her health and surroundings. Abroad, where women have always smoked, and where the habit is recognised, the whole effect is different, because the life and the tone of society are absolutely unlike anything we know of here. Many women declare they .smoke because in the fever and rush of our English life they find the sedative effects of tobacco most- .delicious and refreshing, and no doubt the whirl and bustle of to.day create a craving for something that .soothes and deadens the keen restlessness of existence. But the charm of a woman, ■the soft perfume which comes from her hair .and dress, is lost or modified if she meets .you with a cigarette in her mouth, destroy.ing the pure air around her by puffs of smoke which come from her tender mouth. .1 believe that the habit; will not spread, or .long survive, in this country, because the majority of opinion is against its continuance, and also because the women who ad-, vocate and imitate the customs of men are not numerous or powerful enough to ensure its adoption.