Mar. 28, 2001 (Copyright Press Association) - Tobacco has become one of the leading killers of American women in just two generations.
A report by the US surgeon general has found women now account for 39% of the nation's 400,000-plus smoking-related deaths each year. This proportion has more than doubled since 1965.
One woman dies from smoking every 34 minutes, yet many may not fully realise the threat.
Lung cancer caused by smoking is now the top female cancer killer, claiming 27,000 more women's lives each year than the breast cancer that women dread so much, says Surgeon General David Satcher.
About one in five women smokes, a rate that has not changed much in a decade. More teenage girls - 30% - are smoking now than 10 years ago.
The tobacco industry spends nearly £700,000 an hour promoting its products.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says federal regulation of the advertising could help cut the number of smokers but that would require Congress to act.
The report urges a major nationwide push to fight female tobacco use.
Mr Satcher points to industry adverts luring girls to the habit by featuring skinny, sexy women. Thompson says: "What starts out as a simple puff is turning into a death sentence."
The World Health Organisation reports that women account for 500,000 of the world's 4 million tobacco-related deaths each year. The number of women smokers is expected to triple from the current 200 million during the next 25 years.
