Casual smoking to appear 'Cool' on the rise in working women: Survey
Considered as a stress buster, smoking among young working women across metro cities in the country has become a routine while many of them have put their heart at risk too, says a survey. By smoking cigarettes they are posing a danger to their heart's health, said an official of the ASSOCHAM, whose Social Development Foundation conducted the survey. To ascertain the smoking behavior of young women, a survey was conducted in the past four weeks, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said in a statement. About 2,000 women in the age group of 22 to 30 in 10 urban centres were analysed. The cities included - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune, it said. "A growing number of young working women (mostly with high paying jobs and an active life) are indulging in social smoking. But, they must realise it is 'uncool' and they are placing their heart health at risk by occasionally indulging in cigarettes,” ASSOCHAM secretary general D S Rawat said. "More and more number of young women can be seen all around commercial hubs in metros enjoying a smoke comfortably with their colleagues, this is certainly a disturbing trend," he said. Only two per cent of the total women surveyed said they smoked a pack or two, and a majority of them blamed peer pressure and work-related stress for an increase in the number of cigarettes they smoked. Of the total, about 40 per cent women identified themselves as 'very light smokers', with a habit of smoking one to two cigarettes occasionally. About 12 per cent said they were 'light smokers' (smoking two to three cigarettes a day). -PTC News
