Ladies have been smoking cigarettes for a long time...

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I was unaware of the use of rolled tobacco in paper in those days. I knew of cigars, and pipes, and even the ugly spittoons that were mainstays in public places. But even so the female use of these products were kept pretty much a secret unless one of them had a damaged reputation, or so I thought. But even among the troops of the armies I had no remembrance of tobacco being rolled into cigarettes. I would love for another thread to detail any soldier diaries that mention this habit of creature comfort. Thanks,
Lubliner.
 
I was unaware of the use of rolled tobacco in paper in those days. I knew of cigars, and pipes, and even the ugly spittoons that were mainstays in public places. But even so the female use of these products were kept pretty much a secret unless one of them had a damaged reputation, or so I thought. But even among the troops of the armies I had no remembrance of tobacco being rolled into cigarettes. I would love for another thread to detail any soldier diaries that mention this habit of creature comfort. Thanks,
Lubliner.
The quote from the journal does specifically say the girls were being sneaky about it. I wonder if maybe it was generally a "European thing," and rolled cigarettes would have been frowned on here for that reason alone? Perhaps had they been consuming tobacco in a more "American" way, such as a pipe or chew, it would have not been such a big deal and something they felt compelled to hide...
 
The quote from the journal does specifically say the girls were being sneaky about it. I wonder if maybe it was generally a "European thing," and rolled cigarettes would have been frowned on here for that reason alone? Perhaps had they been consuming tobacco in a more "American" way, such as a pipe or chew, it would have not been such a big deal and something they felt compelled to hide...
They possibly saw it as an enjoyable pleasure, maybe a thrill, just as the 'under 18' crowd do today. That certain 'magic' moment gets put out once the knowledge of smoking goes mainstream. It just doesn't hold the same charm as it did.
Lubliner.
 
I smoked for 10 years and tried to quit every year to no avail. And at one of the conversations on employee time tracking, we touched on the topic of smoking addiction and I realized that everything is in our head and, if we wish, we can change it just by replacing it with a new habit, and now I drink Chinese tea instead of a cigarette.
So thanks to my colleagues for that :smile:
 
They possibly saw it as an enjoyable pleasure, maybe a thrill, just as the 'under 18' crowd do today. That certain 'magic' moment gets put out once the knowledge of smoking goes mainstream. It just doesn't hold the same charm as it did.
Lubliner.
I'm certain they were drawn in by the same things we are today. I wonder however if it had quite the same level of danger in getting caught as it would today? Then it was just considered a bit strange and not lady like, but ultimately was not much different than a pipe or other forms of tobacco that everyone else was using. Now it's considered a lot worse, since we know the help implications and tobacco in general is looked at differently today...would the 19th century girls even get in any real trouble, I wonder?
 
I'm certain they were drawn in by the same things we are today. I wonder however if it had quite the same level of danger in getting caught as it would today? Then it was just considered a bit strange and not lady like, but ultimately was not much different than a pipe or other forms of tobacco that everyone else was using. Now it's considered a lot worse, since we know the help implications and tobacco in general is looked at differently today...would the 19th century girls even get in any real trouble, I wonder?
It was probably accounted as 'stolen moments' of pleasure, with a lookout keeping watch. The times would be chosen as well as the one with the shared secret. I doubt any real harm would come with their being caught. It may be just a reprimand or a frown, and to save the young lady's reputation I doubt it would be broadcast.
Lubliner.
 
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