Smokers: The Modern Lepers

The role of the tobacco smoker in America has changed dramatically over time. Once regarded as a symbol of wealth and giving the smoker an element of class, smoking is now widely regarded as a social problem that is to be ashamed of.
I lived in the Midwest for about 4 years and it was not an unfamiliar sight to see a billboard spouting something like "Imagine Your Wife a Widower - Quit Smoking Today!" Another common one was the picture of the coughing baby. This one was directed at mothers who smoke. This type of guilt based advertising is not acceptable for all health choices made in America. It is socially unacceptable for someone to harass a severely overweight individual on their health choices, though the two problems are comparable on their impact on human health. Some may say that they are not comparable, because overeating doesn't impact the health of others. Yet, this is not the case. There was even an episode of What Would You Do aired in late 2009 that dealt with the issue of overweight parents having overweight children. An actor addressed a mother of an overweight child, chiding her on her food choices for her daughter. In this instance, the popular opinion was that it was none of anyone else's business what the mother was feeding her child. Would the response have been the same if the woman had been smoking in front of her child, even if she went out of her way to explain to her daughter that it was not a good choice? Probably not.
For a symbolic interactionist's perspective, we have to look at what smoking means. What does it say when someone smokes a cigarette in public to everyone else? To many, smoking is still associated with the criminal and the otherwise defiant. One just has to look at the campaigns on the side of the Trax here in Utah. They are the "Are you a target of Big Tobacco?" ads. The girl has brightly dyed red hair, arm warmers, and heavy boots. The boy has spiked blonde hair and black baggy jeans. It is an assumption that this is a group that is likely to smoke. This reinforces the idea that smoking is viewed as a form of defiance, of going against the norm for no reason other than rebellion. We also have to look at how health is viewed in our society. I found this quote describing attractive, healthy individuals: "In society, attractive people tend to be more intelligent, better adjusted, and more popular. This is described as the halo effect - due to the perfection associated with angels. Research shows attractive people also have more occupational success and more dating experience than their unattractive counterparts." (Feng, 2002) We view healthy, attractive people as even more trustworthy than their sick counterparts. This may help explain why the smoker is so looked down upon.
Smokers are also often viewed as irresponsible, or directly responsible for the ill health effects felt by others. Many anti smoking campaigns are heavily guilt based, especially towards mothers who smoke. I found this description of an ad that appeared in England: "features a young mother, clearly in the terminal stages of lung cancer, who expresses her feelings of guilt and remorse that a cancer caused by her own smoking will soon take her away from her children. In turn, her daughter expresses her anger and grief at the fact that her mother is expected to die shortly as a result of a disease resulting from her smoking." (Fitzpatrick, 2006) There are many, many other health conditions caused by personal choice that cause premature death, such as diabetes or heart disease. We are trained to avoid all unhealthy behaviors, but those associated with deviance and criminality are stigmatized much more heavily than others.

Feng, Charles. "Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology of Beauty." The Journal of Young Investigators :: JYI.org. Journal of Young Investigators, Dec. 2002. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .

Fitzpatrick, Micheal. "The Stigma of Smoking | Dr Michael Fitzpatrick | Spiked." Spiked: Humanity Is Underrated. Spiked, 21 Feb. 2006. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .