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For more than 20 years, tobacco companies have researched the factors that motivate women to smoke, modifying and marketing their products to appeal to them, a new study reports.

Industry documents reveal that, beginning in the 1970's, ad campaigns were aimed at women, promoting the stylishness and taste of cigarettes as well as their alleged health benefits, according to a study published in the June issue of ADDICTION, a scientific journal.

"These internal documents reveal that the tobacco industry's targeting of women goes far beyond marketing and advertising," says lead author Carrie Carpenter, a Harvard research analyst.

"Female specific concerns such as health concerns and social concerns were translated in informed product research to create products that gave (women) false perceptions," said Ms. Carpenter.

For example, low tar cigarettes were marketed as 'light,' allowing consumers to regard light as the healthier option.

"In the end, I think that prevented some women from quitting and they just switched over thinking that was a healthier option. I think that's really disturbing. This product kills women."

Documents from 1969 through 2000 became available following the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998 and were examined by the Harvard School of Public Health. The settlement agreement imposed tight restrictions on the advertising, marketing and promotional activities of cigarette manufacturers including the targeting of youth.

The companies identified gender-based differences in motivational factors, smoking patterns and product preferences. Certain brands of cigarettes were created that were more colourfully packaged, longer and more slender. Ingredients were also manipulated to make the products more palatable to women, the report said.

Documents reveal that tobacco companies also explored using appetite suppressants in cigarettes to promote the idea that smoking can help control weight.

Companies continue to target female smokers, but their strategies are more multifaceted and less transparent than they were decades ago, the report said.

Despite the fact that the harmful effects of smoking are widely publicized, the World Health Organization estimates that 15 per cent of women in developed countries smoke.

According to the authors, the study shows troubling implications for world health, as tobacco companies seek to increase smoking rates among women in developing countries.

The study found that women use smoking to reduce stress and body weight more than men and the association between smoking and depression is stronger among women.