The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

Even though smoking is now banned in many places and con-

texts, it's an advantage to understand the connection between

smoking body language signals and a person's attitude.

Smoking gestures play an important part in assessing emo-

tional states as they are usually performed in a predictable

ritualistic manner that can give important clues to the

smoker's state of mind or to what they are trying to achieve.

The cigarette ritual involves tapping, twisting, flicking, waving

and other mini-gestures indicating that the person is experi-

encing more tension than may be normal.

Differences Between Men and Women

When women smoke they will often hold the cigarette high
with their wrist bent back in a wrist display gesture, leaving
the front of the body open. When men smoke they keep their
wrist straight to avoid looking effeminate and drop their
smoking hand down below chest level after they puff, keeping
the front of the body protected at all times.
Twice as many women smoke as men and both sexes take
the same number of puffs per cigarette, but men hold the
smoke in their lungs longer, making them more susceptible to
lung cancer than women.

Women use the cigarette as a social display

to open the body and display the wrist; men close their

bodies when they smoke and prefer secretive holds