Ever take a moment to notice how people hold their cigarettes? It’s a subtle yet distinct habit.
Some grasp them firmly between their thumb and index finger, while others opt for a more relaxed hold between the index and middle finger.
But could these seemingly mundane choices actually reveal something about their personalities? You’re onto something there.
Allegedly, the way a person holds their cigarette, along with their gestures, like how they walk, sit, or use their hands, can be a revealing window into their inner self.
Back in 1959, Caper Magazine featured an article by Dr. William Neutra, exploring personality analysis through cigarette-holding styles. According to him, this method not only exposes but also provides crucial clues for effective patient treatment.
Dr. Neutra’s research delivered not just a single insight, but a collection of seven fascinating discoveries about men, alongside two distinctive ways in which women tend to handle their cigarettes.
However, in an intriguing twist, it appears that the same approach doesn’t quite work as effectively when applied to women.
Dr. Neutra suggests that women’s heightened self-awareness, especially regarding their natural posture, often makes them too conscious of how they hold their cigarettes, rendering them less ideal subjects for this captivating experiment.
The first half of the 20th century was the golden age of the cigarette. In 1950 around half of the population of industrialized countries smoked, in countries such as the United States up to 50 percent of adult men were regular smokers.
Smoking was an acceptable form of social behavior in all areas of life—at work, in the home, in bars, and at the cinema—and advertisers were keen to show the full range of leisure activities made complete only through the addition of a cigarette.
Smoking cigarettes was popular across all social classes and increasingly among women, once associations of smoking with deviant sexuality began to fade in the 1920s.
This development had less to do with the efforts of advertisers—who, for example, in 1925 introduced the Marlboro brand as a woman’s cigarette: “Mild as May”—and more to do with the impact of war and a direct confrontation with societal attitudes by so-called new women.
Most importantly, the cigarette habit was legitimated, celebrated, and glamourized on the Hollywood screen and transported to the rest of the world.
“Just a guess for this female mannerism: insecure, afraid to lose that cigarette. She probably holds on to her man like glue.”
“Typical grasp of a female bored with her date. She has to concentrate on the tip to keep from yawning.”
“Dr. Neutra claims this man is an intellectual, a very brainy type of guy, a contemplative character.”
“This person is generally unreliable, weak, hard to live with, and inclined to excessive lying.”
“Very tense individual, direct, straight-forward, inclined towards stubbornness.”
“A hail fellow, well-met character who enjoys high living. Sort of the Texas millionaire type.”
“This guy’s obviously daring, calculating, literally likes to play with fire.”
“A dreamer, always off on a tangent.”
“Very pessimistic, excessive in business caution.”
