Cigarettes in Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cigarettes in Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Cigarettes in Fashion" discovers the symbol of cigarettes in the fashion images. The Hazlitt observation’s of fashion as race of appearances, mode of symbolic expression which has been widely agreed by different sects of the society. Images of models smoking cigar featuring in fashion magazines, movies, posters, etc. have been the main cause for increased level of smoking among the youngsters as well as women which is well supported by Gilly Andrews (2005:47) as smoking is the UK’s largest cause for preventable death and disability, responsible for over 120,000 deaths a year which comprises of 30,000 women costing â‚ ¤1.7 billion each year. M.A.H. Russell et al (1974) mentioned Tomkins psychological theory, wherein smoking was classified into four groups viz; positive effect smoking that produces or increases pleasant feeling, negative effect smoking that reduces unpleasant feelings, anger or fear, shame, etc., habitual smokers who smoke without affect and addictive smokers who smoke continuously without which he gets restless. The present study makes an attempt to collect necessary and appropriate study and findings from the previous studies in order to analyze how images of smoking used by fashion magazines and other editorials impact the people and especially women and will try to answer whether the cigarettes in fashion images increase the women’s sexual appeal or is it just an fashion element to sell the products. Gilman and Zhou (2004) mention that smoking prevailed in the past.... The Mayans, Aztecs, Caribs and many others used to smoke one form or other tobacco. Smoke which was initially taken for curing later became a passion and a source of pleasure for most of the smokers. With tobacco having such a long history, from late 18th century, cigarette smoking was viewed as part of modernity according to Penny Tinkler (2006:5), but the process of modernity had already begun in 1880 in the western societies as it was believed as a quality of social experience and practical negotiation of one's life and identity within the complex and fast changing world. Fred C. Pampel (2001) states that there has been considerable increase in women smokers due to the fact they were having limited access or treated unequally in the past, and thereafter because of narrowing sex differences in times of gender equality and strengthening values of female independence has lead to newfound freedom and higher status of women creating a desire in the women to do things all good and bad, due to increased level of income, power and equal social status comparatively to men. Thus the fact that woman were denied certain luxuries and equalities in the past; has lead to increased level of smoking due to high income, equality and increased level of social status in the present which in turn provided stimulus to tobacco companies to market their product keeping specifically for women. Penny Tinkler (2001) further mentions that in 1996/97, 28% of British women were smokers of manufactured and hand rolled cigarettes as compared to 31% men and it is suggested that cigarettes was more used as fashion accessory for affluent, upwardly mobile city living women. There has been considerable increase in