Smoking among the female workers of a cotton mill

An inquiry into the smoking habits of the female workers of a cotton mill was carried out by means of questionnaires in the spring 1969. 16.5 per cent of 1029 workers smoked. All the 170 women smoked cigarettes, each of them only a single brand, with the exception of five women. Smoking was most frequent among young unmarried women. In the higher social classes it was more common than in the lower. The average number of cigarettes was about 10 per day. For 70 per cent this was the maximum, and the highest number of cigarettes reported was 20 per day. 87.5 per cent of the smokers reported that they inhaled the smoke. 82 per cent were of the opinion that smoking did not affect their health while 15 per cent reported adverse effects. The results suggest that smoking is on the increase among women.