The dominant trend in smoking prevalence in most Western countries is its increasing association with lower socioeconomic positions, making it a major factor behind inequalities in health. This paper focuses on the reasoning behind smoking, as well as on its social significance among middle-class and workingclass smokers. The data consist of 55 semi-structured interviews with daily smokers, ex-smokers and occasional smokers from different occupational backgrounds. The analysis revealed considerable differences in the ways of accounting for smoking, relating to the respondents' occupational backgrounds. Contrary to expectations, non-manual workers tended to consider their smoking functional, pleasurable and controlled, whereas the opposite was the case with the manual workers. Despite the high prevalence of smoking in that group, they were least willing to justify or rationalise their behaviour, whereas the agenda of middle-class smokers could be interpreted as the reconciliation of middle-class habitus with a risky, working-class habit.

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Aim This article compares adolescents' images of alcoholism in two different drinking geographies, namely Helsinki (Finland) and Turin (Italy), with the aim to better understand the persisting variance in youth drinking within Europe. Design Altogether 28 focus group interviews were conducted at schools among 15-year-old pupils (N=145). To assure reliable qualitative comparison across language boundaries, we applied a structured qualitative focus-group methodology called the Reception Analytical Group Interview (RAGI). Conclusions Collectivist images of alcoholism can be considered more protective in terms of alcohol-related risk behaviour as they 1) emphasise interpersonal responsibility, 2) enhance the value of norms and traditions, and 3) highlight causes of alcoholism which are beyond the control of the individual (that is, contextual, social and inherent in the substance), making the attitude towards alcohol more cautious. A greater emphasis on the individual competence may correspondingly result in a lower perception about the risks of drinking.

The forum works as a platform for harm reduction inspired exchange of knowledge. However, the user community's knowledge sharing practices can generate a shared perception of a sufficient or even superior drug use experience and knowledge. This may lead to overdoses and other risky behaviour, and thereby contribute to increased harms related to non-medical use of prescription drugs.