Beautiful women smoking cigars was once one of the ways that a woman could declare her independence from the conventional models that society would have her settle for in her choices in life. Film stars led the way, firing up a cigar while engaging their male counterpart on the silver screen. Later on, as proof that a woman could do anything a man could do, cigar smoking women would be seen at all sorts of rallies and meetings that were organized around the theme of equality for women. In fact, women smoking cigars did have a powerful impact on both supporters and detractors, and did help many people to see women as capable of being whatever they wanted to be, rather than filling one role in society.

However, those types of statements were done in a time when the dangers of smoking tobacco were not known at all or were just beginning to permeate society. In today’s climate, women cigar smokers are likely to be viewed as irresponsible and unmindful of their health, just as their male counterparts are. The mystique associated with women smoking cigars and pipes is long gone, and with good reason. Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, so what kind of a statement will anyone make when they choose to light up, even a cigar smoking woman?

Today, there are much more constructive ways for women to demonstrate that they have what it takes to make their own way in the world. Cigars and the women who smoke them do not lend themselves very easily to this new direction in advocating equal rights for all women in all places. In fact, the image of a woman smoking cigars may in fact detract from that direction and conjure up old stereotypes that women cannot be counted on to react rationally. While this may not be a fair assessment, it unfortunately is all too often the case that people choose to think that way, even today.

A cigar smoking woman today runs the risk of not being taken seriously, as being someone who is mired in the ideas of times past and not up to the task of living in the here and now. While women smoke cigars for many of the same reasons that men still smoke cigars, the fact is that the action does not to either gender any good. Women who want to be accepted on the basis of merit and ability will see that smoking cigars or any other type of tobacco is a waste of time and effort and find other ways to demonstrate just what they can do.