GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SMOKING, SOCIOECONOMIC TRENDS AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS

International patterns of smoking diffusion follow an approximate sequence of four stages which are defined by gender issues. As a consequence the dissemination of smoking causes more health problems for well-off individuals at early stages of the diffusion patterns, but later those with lower incomes and women become more vulnerable to chronic diseases. In developing countries where women´s smoker rate is close to men´s rate, women´s morbidity and mortality rates from smoking-related illnesses are also approaching to those of men. Concerning policy making, it is necessary further research to clarify why smoking trends of men and women differ even they are expose to same tobacco interventions. Gender is institutionally structured and is a complex array of values and norms that permeate social structures and organizational systems, including legal, political, economic, health and religious system. A gender perspective in tobacco control policies will contribute to a more accurate epidemiological understanding of tobacco use as well as to making programs more successful. This article explores these trends from a socioeconomic perspective and analyzes these possible political implications.