When Life's a Drag

Cigarette smoking has been increasingly implicated as a cause of ill-health and premature death, and passive smoking represents a significant risk to the health of others, particularly children. Women's smoking in Britain, like men's, is associated with social and economic disadvantage. This book focuses on this fact, reviewing current evidence and reporting on a study designed to shed light on the connections between the smoking behaviour of white working class women and the circumstances of their daily lives. Based on interviews with 905 mothers in manual household, the study illustrates how cigarette smoking is part of the way in which women caring in circumstances of disadvantage cope when life's a drag.