Attention, ladies:

For years, tobacco companies have carried out extensive research to find ways to get females to smoke, according to a new study released this week by Harvard University's School of Public Health.

Analysis of the more than 7 million internal documents from the tobacco industry, dating from 1969 up to 2000, provides substantial evidence that cigarette makers intentionally modified their products to appeal to women, including putting an emphasis on "sleek" and "slim" designs, creating a better taste, and even looking into ways to add perceived health benefits, such as weight loss.

"These internal documents reveal that the tobacco companies' targeting of women goes far beyond marketing and adverting. They did so much research in such a sophisticated way, and women should know how far the industry went to exploit them," the study's lead author, Carrie Murray Carpenter, told The Associated Press. The documents, first made public following the 1998 Tobacco Maker Settlement Agreement, are examined further in the report published in the June issue of Addiction, an international scientific journal.

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