Objective In Spain, fewer men are smoking every year yet the number of women smokers remains relatively high. This paper examines the impact of two anti-smoking policies (increased prices and obligatory pictorial health warning labels) on womens smoking decisions; generation cohorts are used to elucidate the determinants of those decisions. Data source We have drawn 48,755 observations of women living in Spain from the Spanish National Health Surveys of 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2011. Data synthesis Among the main results, we highlight that belonging to a particular generation modulates the manner in which individual characteristics and tobacco policies determine smoking decisions. For example, women's smoking was not considered as socially acceptable until the 1960s and therefore older women have lower smoking rates. However, for the younger female cohorts (generations X and Y) smoking was seen as an act of rebellion and modernity, so women belonging to these groups, irrespective of educational level, are more likely to smoke. Conclusions The price of cigarettes and pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packets also influence the smoking behaviour of Spanish women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]