By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2001
By almost any measure, Queen Margrethe of Denmark could be considered a terrific monarch.
Revered by her 5-million subjects, the 60-year-old queen heads a prosperous little country that draws international praise for its respect for human rights and the environment. She takes an active role in affairs of state and as part of "The Job" -- as she calls her royal duties -- often leads Danish trade and cultural missions.
The queen also is a talented artist who has designed postage stamps, illustrated books by J.R.R. Tolkien and created sets and costumes for the Royal Danish Ballet. She maintains a keen interest in philosophy and archaeology, and with her husband, Prince Henrik, has translated the works of Simone de Beauvoir.
But Queen Margrethe has one far less noble passion: cigarettes. Now, an expert says, there is evidence that her three-pack-a-day smoking habit could be harming her countrywomen.
In the March 17 issue of Lancet, a British medical journal, Belgian professor Hugo Kesteloot writes that death rates for Western European women have declined sharply since the 1970s. However, the death rate for Danish women began to level off a few years after Margrethe assumed the throne in 1972 and has held steady since.
"The queen is very popular in Denmark and a known cigarette smoker," Kesteloot writes. "As a role model for women, the queen's example could offers an explanation for the unusual mortality in Danish women."
If so, Kesteloot says, "this would be the first time that the involuntary influence of a single person on population health could be shown."
Margrethe, born in 1940, grew up at a time when smoking was so socially acceptable that a daintily held cigarette was almost a required fashion accessory for female actors and European aristocracy.
Throughout her adult life, the queen has smoked unabashedly. A story in a Canadian newspaper last year noted that her face betrayed "no signs of a 60-a-day-cigarette habit (which her subjects would not dream of criticizing.)"
With cameras snapping away, the queen even smoked during a recent press conference at which she criticized the Lancet article.
"It's a sensationalist way to publish what most of us already know: That many Danish women smoke," she said.
Indeed they do. According to the World Health Organization, Denmark has the highest rate of female smoking on earth. An estimated 37 percent of Danish women smoke, compared to 35 percent in Norway, the runner-up, and about 22 percent in the United States.
Not surprisingly, Denmark also has the world's highest rate of tobacco-related deaths among women.
In his Lancet article, Kesteloot notes that women in Denmark had a lower death rate than other Western European women until 1974. But by 1996, a quarter century after chain-smoking Margrethe became queen, the Danish death rate had soared to almost 50 percent higher than that in other European nations.
"The difference is unexpected," Kesteloot writes, "considering that the Danish population has the highest income in the European Union, excellent education facilities, comprehensive social security with medical coverage for all and a high standard of medical care.
"To explain these aberrant mortality rates in women there may be a factor or factors which are unique in Denmark. . . . The question arises as to whether Queen Margrethe II's behavior could be a risk factor for population health in Denmark, especially among women."
Like most other developed nations, the Danish government has taken steps to discourage smoking. Tobacco advertising is banned on TV, radio and in publications aimed specifically at young people. Health warnings are required on the front and back of cigarette packs. Smoking is restricted in state-owned buildings and on premises frequented by children.
However, no laws ban sales of tobacco products to minors. Nor is Denmark a party to a landmark European Commission lawsuit that accuses major tobacco companies of evading huge amounts of taxes by smuggling cigarettes into Europe.
If successful, experts say, the suit could be a devastating financial blow to the tobacco industry.
Queen Margrethe is not the only famous European woman who smokes heavily. In Britain, supermodel Kate Moss and Prince Charles' companion, Camilla Parker Bowles, have been photographed with cigarettes dangling from their mouths. Perhaps bowing to public pressure, though, both seem to have limited their smoking when in the public eye.
Given her many fine qualities, Danes don't seem to begrudge their queen one unhealthy vice. "Keep on puffing," read the headline on a Danish newspaper. And Prince Henrik, an ex-smoker, had this to say when asked whether his wife's habit set a bad example:
"We must not be impressed or influenced by political correctness. Let people die from smoking if they want. It's their business."
The queen's mother, he noted, smoked even more than Margrethe does. She died last year -- at age 90.
-- Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at susan@sptimes.com.