Smoking Cigarettes Was Considered Attractive

As women entered the workforce during World War I, they began asserting their independence, cutting their hair short, wearing trousers—and smoking cigarettes. Smoking was considered cool and attractive due to how cigarette companies marketed their products. And these adverts even added a very untrue benefit that it helped them stay slim and fit.

While smoking is now known to be dangerous to health, it’s fascinating to look back at how it was once seen as an act of feminism. That period of the 20th century was even referred to as “The Cigarette Century,” owing to the sharp rise in tobacco consumption.