Locations of self in smoking discourses and practices: An ethnography of smoking among adolescents and young adults in the United States

Abstract

Whereas the presence of an ashtray on every table in American restaurants was once the norm, smoking in public places has become increasingly restricted during the late twentieth century. Given the changes in numerous physical and social environments impacting on smoking messages and behaviors within the larger context of contemporary American ideologies about morality, identity, the body, and the social order, how has the relationship between smoking and identity changed? The task of this thesis is to explore this question from the perspective of 22 contemporary young adults with personal smoking histories. After reviewing social trends in cigarette consumption during the past century, I examine the present relationship between smoking and identity, including the influence of social factors, and the significance of identity to motivations and practices pertaining to self-restricted smoking and cessation. The work of constructing, reconstructing and negotiating one's moral identity through discourse and practice receives special attention.