title: Tobacco denormalisation and representations of different tobacco users in Norway: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: This study asks whether representations of different typical tobacco users vary in line with established stereotypes and by social group membership (especially tobacco user status). Social identity theory posits that representations differ due to varying identification with product users on the basis of personal use, while distinction theory suggests representations will be structured by proximity and distance to user groups. Using principal component analysis to identify representations and regression analysis to determine variances in representations, we find that four of five groups of typical tobacco users (snus users, pipe, cigarette, and cigar smokers) can be classified according to three similar representations: socially secure, culturally marginal and unappealing. Respondents who themselves use a certain tobacco product are more likely to consider a 'typical' user from their own group as more 'socially secure' and less 'culturally marginal' and 'unappealing' than non-users. Former smokers tend to side with non-smokers, which suggests their 'smoker identity' is on the wane. At the representational level, then, socio-historical distinctions between different tobacco products seem to have diminished in favour of a largely dual classification, with users expressing positive and non-users negative representations, of any typical user. This is a likely consequence of persistent tobacco denormalisation policies.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research (SIRUS), Norway.
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saebø
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009664:Norway; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology; D012933:Social Identification; D062789:Tobacco Products; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: identity; smoking (tobacco); social representation; space/spatial factors