Torches of Freedom

In 1904 a woman named Jennie Lasher was sentenced to thirty days in jail for putting her children's morals at risk by smoking in their presence and in 1908 the New York City Board of Aldermen unanimously passed an ordinance that prohibited smoking by women in public.

Eventually for women the cigarette came to symbolize "rebellious independence, glamour, seduction and sexual allure for both feminists and flappers.

[dubious – discuss] In 1928 George Washington Hill, the president of the American Tobacco Company, realized the potential market that could be found in women and said, "It will be like opening a gold mine right in our front yard."

Bernays decided to attempt to eliminate the social taboo against women smoking in public.

"[6] In 1929 Bernays decided to pay women to smoke their "torches of freedom" as they walked in the Easter Sunday Parade in New York.

"[6] Once the footage was released, the women's walk was seen as a protest for equality and sparked discussion throughout the nation.

[7] In the 1990s, tobacco companies continued to advertise cigarettes as "torches of freedom" as they sought to expand their markets around the world.

Such brands as Virginia Slims continued to put forward the idea of modernity and freedom in new markets.

A survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that between 1986 and 1999 smoking among women had increased from 10.5% to 23.2%.

[3] Tobacco companies advertise to women around the world, showing cigarettes as symbols of upward mobility, gender equality and freedom.

The 1929 "Torches of Freedom" public relations campaign equated smoking in public with female emancipation. Some women had been smoking decades earlier, but usually in private; this 1890s satirical cartoon from Germany illustrates the notion that smoking was considered unfeminine by some in that period.
1900 cigarette ad; targeting women is not a new strategy.
A 1914 ad targeting women. Tobacco companies have long targeted the female market, seeing it as a potential growth area. [ 5 ]
The "Torches of Freedom" idea saw a resurgence in the 1990s far beyond the borders of America, where tobacco advertising was now becoming increasingly restricted.