Women and Smoking in America, 1880-1950

During the last 20 years of the 19th century, cigarette smoking was transformed from a lower-class habit to a favored form of tobacco use for men and practically the only form available to women. The trend continued to grow through the 1950s, when smoking was a significant part of America's social fabric for both men and women.

This social history traces the evolution of women's smoking in the United States from 1880 to 1950. From 1880 to 1908, women were not allowed to smoke in public plac...