Challenging the imperative of health? Smoking and justifications of risk-taking

Katainen, Anu

doi:10.1080/09581590601089046

Cited by 30 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Participants' attitudes towards the health risks of smoking explained their continued smoking in an environment where smoking is strongly regulated and information about health risks is widespread. While participants acknowledged the health consequences of smoking, they managed to deal with them in ways that differ from the ways predicted by those who develop anti-smoking messages (Katainen, 2006). The finding corresponds with a previous study (McMaster & Lee, 1991) which has shown that smokers experience cognitive dissonance where they acknowledge the health risks but justify their smoking to continue it.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

A Qualitative Study of Attitudes towards Smoking and Anti-Smoking Measures among Korean Male Smokers in Australia

Choi¹,

Banwell²

2017

GJHS

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The study aims to explore how Korean male smokers living in Australia talk and feel about smoking and how they have understood and experienced tobacco control policies in Australia-including price increase, display ban, plain packaging, and graphic warning labels. A qualitative study was conducted based on in-depth face-to-face interviews with 8 Korean male smokers aged 23-40 years living in Canberra. Participants discussed social and cultural conditions in Korea under which smoking is practiced and maintained. Smoking as a means of socialising and relaxation were consistently discussed as the main reasons for continued smoking which was deeply embedded in their everyday lives as habit or part of routines. The health risks of smoking were not among the immediate or ultimate considerations influencing participants. Participants commented that price increases had affected them most but other measures had little impact on their smoking behaviours, although they acknowledged their potentials in deterring younger people. Future anti-smoking interventions in Korea should address the significant social and cultural determinants of smoking and acknowledge smokers' own understanding of their smoking and anti-smoking measures. Appreciating smokers' diverse representations of their own smoking and their attitudes towards health and anti-smoking measures would increase acceptance of policies and the probability that they will be successful, leading to positive outcomes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

A Qualitative Study of Attitudes towards Smoking and Anti-Smoking Measures among Korean Male Smokers in Australia

Choi¹,

Banwell²

2017

GJHS

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“…Finally, qualitative studies report that willpower and personal responsibility are key terms in smokers' discourses about smoking and cessation 59 60 68 69. Assisted cessation conflicts with smokers' conceptualisations of quitting that emphasise the importance of internal strength and willpower.…”

Section: Factors Limiting the Biomedicalisation Of Smokingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicalisation, smoking and e-cigarettes: evidence and implications

et al. 2016

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There is debate in the tobacco control literature about the value of a medical model in reducing smoking-related harm. The variety of medical treatments for smoking cessation has increased, health professionals are encouraged to use them to assist smoking cessation and tobacco dependence is being described as a 'chronic disease'. Some critics suggest that the medicalisation of smoking undermines the tobacco industry's responsibility for the harms of smoking. Others worry that it will lead smokers to deny personal responsibility for cessation, create beliefs in 'magic bullets' for smoking cessation, or erode smokers' confidence in their ability to quit. We argue that the medicalisation of smoking will have limited impact due to the emphasis on population-based interventions in tobacco control, the ambiguous place of nicotine among other drugs and the modest efficacy of current pharmacotherapies. These factors, as well as lay understandings of smoking that emphasise willpower, personal choice and responsibility, have contributed to the limited success of medical approaches to smoking cessation. While the rapid uptake of e-cigarettes in some countries has provided an option for those who reject medical treatments for smoking cessation, current regulatory developments could limit the potential of e-cigarettes to provide non-therapeutic nicotine for those who currently smoke tobacco.

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“…But that guy, that's disgusting and that won't be me, can't be me, will never be me. Risk can be a positive and an important element in one's identity, which leads to a stronger sense of self-agency (see, for example, Katainen, 2006). One participant who had led a 'safe' and cautious life, but went on to develop cancer, acknowledged that smoking created an element of risk that she was prepared to take, since paradoxically, it gave her some control over future illnesses: I've never been much of a risk taker at all, in fact quite the contrary .…”

Section: Weighing Up Health and Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%