Patterns and predictors of tobacco consumption among women

The study examines the patterns and predictors of cigarette consumption amo ng 920 female smokers aged 16-49 who formed part of the British Household P anel Survey, a representative survey of households in Britain. The study as sesses the influence of three key factors: socio-economic circumstances, ps ychological health and partner's smoking status. The study confirms that fe male smokers are more disadvantaged than the broader population of women, b oth with respect to their socioeconomic circumstances and their psychologic al health, Within this disadvantaged group, higher cigarette consumption wa s linked to greater socio-economic disadvantage and poorer psychological he alth but not partner's smoking status. Age and pregnancy status also had an independent effect on consumption. Of these factors, being in poor psychol ogical health was the single most powerful predictor of high rates of consu mption. The implications of the findings for health promotion are discussed .