Social class differences in the accounts of smoking – striving for distinction?

Abstract

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.

Cigarettes, snus and status: differences in lifestyle of different tobacco user groups in Norway

“…Even occasional smoking of "rolling tobacco" now seems a marker of distinction among resourceful young adults in the big city (Tokle, 2010). There may be an element of cultural and political resistance associated with this form of smoking as well, while still being consistent with a self-understanding as autonomous non-smoker, in line with the health authorities' wish to end the tobacco problem (Katainen, 2010). This argument is substantiated by the occasional smokers' location close to non-smokers in the social space, rather than in an intermediate position between daily smokers and non-smokers.…”

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

“…As Lupton (1995) suggested, what seems important to smokers is what smoking represents, a space and time to build social bonds, to calm themselves, to collect thoughts, and to rest. This is important in that it reflects and reinforces smoking through establishments of the appropriateness of smoking in certain groups of people and circumstances (Katainen, 2010). Participants experienced smoking as being deeply ingrained in their everyday lives as habit or part of routines, practiced "naturally or without conscious thoughts".…”

Smoking motives among the Estonian university community and differences between the faculties

“…Most studies comparing smoking motives between population subgroups are relatively small (Klitzke et al 1990; Livson and Leino 1988;Shiffman and Prange 1988;Souza et al 2010;Tate et al 1994;West and Lennox 1992), or they are limited to specific patient groups (Peretti-Watel et al 2009). They might also be qualitative (Katainen 2010(Katainen , 2012, and we found only two studies on smoking motives conducted among the general population (Fidler and West 2009;Yong and Borland 2008), and even then, only a limited number of motives were covered.…”