Walk like a man, talk like a man... smoke and drink like a man?

Cigars. What does the word bring to mind? Gentlemen's clubs, leather Chesterfield chairs, huge boxes of havanas being opened and inhaled, celebration, sophistication, signs of wealth... and Fidel Castro. So, essentially, only found in a male domain, along with beards, dodgy underpants and single malt. Aha, but you see, that's where you're wrong. Habanas Cuban Cigars, in a joint venture with our own tobacco giant British Imperial Tobacco, have come up with a new cigar - especially for women. The Julieta, as it is called, is smaller and milder than traditional cigars, and the manufacturers hope that it will widen the circle of cigar-smoking chicks, which already include famous faces such as Jodie Foster, Whoopi Goldberg, Madonna and Sharon Stone. Well, it's an interesting concept, and one way to fight back in the face of the smoking bans which have severely knocked profits for the tobacco industry in recent years. Personally, I'm not sure how popular cigars are going to be for the ladies, but then I used to smoke roll-ups back in my teenage days, so perhaps style and sophistication aren't exactly my strong point... I am prepared to concede that, if women do like a smoke - particularly of the cigar-y persuasion - then the Julieta will probably beat a Hamlet any day of the week. It is, however, worrying to see tobacco products being aimed specifically at women, when UK female smoking death figures are still rising.

And it seems that tobacco is not the only vice being marketed towards women nowadays. The pub chain Green King has launched a "Public Housewives" recruitment drive, as they are desperate to get more women involved with the licensing industry. Parallel to this, they are working on plans to offer larger wine glasses, glossy magazines, free toiletries and flowers on the tables in their pubs - to get more women to socialise with each other whilst enjoying a drink and a meal. Not just any women, sorry - only SWAGS need apply. Sassy, Wise And Grown-up ladies in the 35 yr plus bracket. That's almost me! Well, I'm certainly sassy, and 35 this year, but as for the rest.. Hey, two outta four ain't bad. I can even become a "fan" on Green King's Facebook Fan page, or apply for a job with them via Twitter. The pub industry is quickly latching on to the social networking trend in women, and to their advantage. It's all a bit of a cause for concern, though, in view of the constant reports coming through of increased risk of certain cancers in women who drink... although I'm all for larger measures of sauvignon and a copy of Heat! whilst I guzzle.

Perhaps it's just a cunning ploy by male marketers to like going to the pub for the sole purpose of making mens' lives easier... if the missus fancies a jar, then they're home and dry for the evening. On a practical side, pushing up sales of pints of Stella and pork scratchings as well as those of a cheeky merlot. And on the old cigar front, well, if a woman likes to light one up, she can hardly complain about her better half's smoking habit, can she? The couple who indulge together, stay together... Luckily for us, girls, Coca Cola are launching a multi-million pound marketing campaign to get us to "Love it Light", rather than smoke and drink ourselves into an early grave.

Timed to coincide with the start of London Fashion week next month, Diet Coke will be launching its strike offensive against Pepsi, who are also going to be heavily promoting their own sugar-free ranges this spring. Coke are really going all out this time, partnering with Asos.com to offer the chance to win an outfit every 30 minutes, as well as money-off vouchers... plus letting us girlies collect Coke Zone points with each purchase that can be swapped for copies of mags like Grazia, Closer and More! All good so far. And there is even a new TV ad campaign starring three girl puppets who are going to tempt us into "loving it light". So it's 'da boch chi' to the cycling songstress Duffy, and hello puppets. Er... surely something's wrong with this picture? I can't be the only one who is still devastated at the sudden disappearance of the Diet Coke Break Man! Is he still resident in the US ads do you think - or have Coca Cola decided to go all politically correct on us and deprive us of hard, muscular and semi-clad sexgods? I'm all for equality, and cessation of sexism and gender stereotype in the media - but this is going a step too far, by golly.

Obviously, re-engineering or creating products for women is big business, as is female-targetted marketing for existing ones. It shows the huge shift in attitude both towards and from women, as well as the socio-economic impact of more professional and working women, and our disposable income is now being fought over by big name brands. I wonder what will be next to try and win us over to the dark (male) side... Pink Pot Noodles? Diamante spanners? Who knows. I'm not that interested to be honest. I'm off to YouTube to do a quick search under "diet coke break man please". Sweet.