Tobacco Documents Online

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EXECUTIVE SUL4MARY • Beginning in the Fall of 1990, a project was undertaken to determine the American archetype of smoking. An archetype is a "mental highway" (neuronal pathway) which has been imprinted at an early age. The imprinting experience imparts the significant meaning that an object or action will have for an individual. The American archetype of smoking is as follows: Smoking is a social ritual which enables us to express and reaffirm our self image. When we smoke, we reactivate the initiation into adulthood which acknowledged cur individualism and bound us to our peer group. Recommendations based on the archetype follow from several key themes: smoking is an adult activity that is dangerousr smoking has ritualistic components; American culture values both individuality and conformity as well as growth and change. o Stress that smoking is for adults only o Make it difficult for minors to obtain cigarettes o. Continue to have smoking perceived as a legitimate, albeit morally ambiguous, adult activity. Smoking should occupy the middle ground between activities that everyone can partake in vs. activities that only the fringe of society embraces. o Stress that smoking is dangerous - Smoking is for people who like to take risks, who are not afraid of taboos, who take life as an adventure to prove themselves o Emphasize the ritualistic elements of smoking, particularly fire and smoke o Emphasize the individualism/con£ormity dichotomy - Stress the popularity of a brand, that choosing it will reinforce your identity and your integration into the group. o Because of the American culture, rest or reward should always be in anticipation of the next action, not a final reward o American identity should be the core. .. growing, searching, striving !

PREFACE • . During the numerous lengthy discussions of smoking and its role in American culture, various functions of smoking were elucidated. Unbeknownst to us at the time, many of these same functions had been highlighted by a sociologist named Sherwin J. Feinhandler. Since these functions have been confirmed by independent investigations, we believe they are central to smoking's role in America. - In order to acknowledge these functions and to set the stage for the Archetype discussion, an excerpt from Feinhandler's chapter "The Social Role of Smoking" is given below: "There seems to be great agreement on the meanings underlying smoking for smokers and non-smokers alike. Smoking in this society is informal, sociable, and a marker of time and space. Even the most virulent anti-smoker 'understands' the meaning of smoking regardless of his or her attitude toward it." "Through observational studies of smoking we have been able to categorize smoking behavior as having personal, social, and ordering functions. The personal uses are related to the notion of habit in that an individual learns to accomplish certain ends and repeats behavior for that purpose. The social functions are primarily interpersonal in nature. The ordering functions relate to customary ideas of segmenting time and events and otherwise imposing order on situations. Personal functions include the management or enhancement of negative and positive affect, the presentation of self and the preparation of self for possibly stressful situations. Social functions include the definition of social space by mediating and maintaining boundaries, the building of social cohesiveness by defining groups and sharing and exchanging within groups. Ordering functions deal with marking events, focusing attention, measuring time, marking time out, and filling time. Personal Functions Presentation of Self. individuals may use tobacco with its related paraphernalia and smoking styles to express a specific self-image. Positive Affect Enhancement. smokers often smoke to enhance positive emotional states such as relaxation, gratification and stimulation. Negative Affect Management. smoking and its attendant behavior can function to reduce negative feelings such as fear, anxiety, stress, or anger.

Social LnctionG • • ' Boundary Mediation. The circles of personal space or group space are formidable social barriers. No one steps up to a stranger or a group and begins a conversation without some sort of ice-breaker, an event or object external to the participants. A smoker has a ready-made ticket into a circle of other smokers. Smoking can aid in breaking down the social barrier around a group of people. Group Definition. Smoking as a common activity tends to reinforce and affirm the relationship among members of a group and aids in defining the participants as a group. Exchange. The offering or accepting of a cigarette or light serves to cement and bond social relationships. Social relationships are most often established by performing acts or giving objects of minor, but appreciated value. To accept an object or a service rendered is to incur an obligation or a debt, which when repaid, establishes a pattern of exchange. Boundary Maintenance. People tend to evaluate their personal association with others according to whether the others are on the inside or outside of various social boundaries. Rituals of hospitality are essentially mechanisms for transforming a stranger into a friend, or temporarily making a member of a rival group into a member of one's own group. Tobacco has served to exclude people from, or to distinguish, groups--to maintain boundaries. Interactional Transition. when wishing to change the topic of conversation or proceed to another mode of communication, a Kikuyu speaker may say 'Let us now take a pinch of snuff.' Smoking behavior is often used to facilitate or mark a shift in the primary interpersonal activity. Ordering Functions Pacing. Smokers often use the amount of time it takes to smoke a cigarette to measure the duration of such external events as, for example, co-occurring activities. Focusing Attention. Smoking can add structure to tasks. it has been noted that smoking is an aid to concentration Time Filling. To occupy oneself before the start of an event over which one has no control, one may smoke a cigarette. Time Out. Time out is a break or relaxation period from other activities. smokers may commence these other activities at leisure, with the act of smoking to mark time out. Because smokers can almost always carry thoir cigarettes with them, they have a portable symbol of this 'break time.' They can mark a situation as their own by lighting up.

Orderina Functions (Contldj Event Marking. Smoking often occurs before or after an event, acting to mark a beginning or ending. Smoking thus serves to frame the events and reflect the human.propensity to categorize and organize events so that they are both bounded and sensible." While we acknowledge these roles played by smoking, the Archetype approach seeks to go beyond the superficial rational/cognitive functions of an activity and uncover its emotional underpinnings which are unique to a particular culture. The results of this exercise follow. • •