I had an occasion a few years back to get to rub elbows with some of the really really rich in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (I was a member of a board appointed by the city council, and as such was sent a gratis invitation to this event held on city property managed by the board). It was pretty astonishing to see a few of the very rich young women strutting around with their big stoggies, practically doing Freudian posturing in the process. It looked clearly like an affectation to me, along the lines of some of the gowns, jewels, and furs they wore simply because they could afford to. It was a way of showing off.

SRS