BACKGROUND: Despite significant declines in smoking rates in the United States, a substantial percentage of adults continue to smoke. Improved understanding of current smokers and their contact with sources of cessation support future tobacco control efforts. Recent evidence suggests that hardcore smokers, established smokers without a history of quit attempts, have less contact with cessation support. Although gender is among the major factors that influence smoking cessation, no research is available on gender differences among hardcore smokers. METHODS: Demographic, environmental, and smoking-related characteristics of female hardcore smokers and male hardcore smokers and other female smokers were examined. Data from 17,777 smokers from the 2003 Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with female hardcore smokers, male hardcore smokers were more likely to have contact with smoking restrictions at work (OR = 1.69) and at home (OR = 1.45). Compared with female hardcore smokers, female other smokers were more likely to have seen a healthcare provider during the past year who advised them to quit smoking (OR = 1.39) and more likely to have smoking restrictions at work (OR = 1.25) and at home (OR = 2.32)). Measures of nicotine dependence suggested that female hardcore smokers were less dependent than male hardcore smokers but more dependent than other female smokers. CONCLUSIONS: The sociodemographic and healthcare access variations in tobacco use identified in our analyses have significant public health implications and underscore the vital need for clinical and scientific advances in tobacco use prevention and control efforts.