This document presents a research report by Grant McCracken on smoking culture, exploring its cultural meanings, practices, and the adolescent perspective on smoking as an anthropological phenomenon. It highlights the various social roles and benefits associated with smoking, such as rebellion, identity construction, and social bonding, while also addressing the challenges posed by health warnings and societal disapproval. The report serves as a guide for students in an ethnography course, emphasizing the complexity of smoking culture among teenagers.

1. To the students of the MIT ethnography course: Here’s a research report I did in the late 1990s. It may serve as a model for your presentation January 31 st . Please treat as a rough guide. You are free to invent your own form. Best, Grant McCracken

2. Smoking Culture: the real “benefits” of smoking the true costs of quitting text by Grant McCracken, Ph.D. video by Suzanne Stein, M.A. Health Canada March 12, 1998

3. presentation objectives methods research smoking culture section 1 cultural meanings section 2 cultural practices section 3 strategic responses conclusion

4. objectives to investigate “smoking culture” an anthropological account smoking from the respondent’s point of view beyond “peer group pressure” cultural logic of smoking cultural significance of smoking the “benefits” of smoking the true costs of quitting what people are giving up when they quit

5. methods ethnographic interviews open-ended seeking key terms in situ asking for their illumination determination of cultural meanings & logic respondent directed ethnographer a simpleton who knows that he doesn’t know

6. research “intercept” interviews school grounds, street corners 10 minutes (+/-) drop-in interviews schools, skateboard parks 1-2 hour interviews (+/-) prearranged interviews homes 2 hours (+/-) 30 hours of interviewing 50 teens November 1997 - January 1998

7. caveats “ teens” no homogeneous category “ teens” in fact more various than “adults” a dubious category “ teens” not for reification surest way to get this wrong is to talk to teens as “teens” (Jaya) wellspring of bad communications these results speak for some but not all groups some individuals but not all the time

8. shared objectives for all the diversity, there are some commonalities: shared project moving away from parental influences and authorities the end of colonialism a new imperative: how to construct this thing called a self that is externally & internally plausible & habitable esp. in a world without “franchising” when, increasingly, selves are “custom-built” & “hand-made”

9. smoking culture I some liberties with term extraordinary resource rich in definitional elements experimental “routines” the playwright’s chap book not perfectly discrete but robust & resilient not impervious to commercial messages, the “movies.” or public health communications but not changed without extraordinary effort & some cunning

10. smoking culture II an ancient & active culture knowledge passed down from generation to generation a kind of folklore: what’s in a Player’s filter? rituals of initiation a liminal activity a repertoire of behaviors body of meanings, tissue of lies affirmed constantly by marketing, movies, & every school yard

11. preliminary goods news health warnings have had effect as one respondent says “[warnings] scare the shit out of you” years of education have done their work ancient culture penetrated oral tradition has new content given sheer density & power of smoking culture, no small accomplishment

12. enduring bad news Canada > 500,000 teens smoke with knowledge of health risks with repeated warnings from school education print advertising & TV spots pack warnings the oral traditions of smoking culture shot through with new knowledge of hazards but the culture continues, the culture recruits, the culture flourishes

13. smoking culture one way out of the bad news? teens look to smoking for something more than nicotine group pressure social accessory dieting aid smoking culture perseveres because it serves as a definitional resource a bundle of ways of thinking, acting, constructing the self

14. true proportions of the problem when we ask people not to start when we ask people to stop we are asking them to give up nicotine, resist group pressure, forgo social accessory & dieting aid but we’re also asking them to give up a smoking culture a chap book and repertoire ways of thinking, acting, constructing the self

15. the strategic challenge assess smoking culture mapping the meanings establishing the “meta-pragmatic” functions what smoking means how smoking is put to work penetrating an ancient culture reaffirmed by marketing, movies, & school yard with communications strategies that acknowledge the culture & the community

16. Smoking culture in 3 sections section 1: cultural meanings section 2: cultural practices section 3: strategic responses

17. section 1: cultural meanings

18. smoking meaningless no intrinsic cultural meaning the Bob Newhart routine “you do what with it, Walter?” well placed incredulity smoking is a peculiar activity we have given it cultural meaning & potency we have made it meaning ful we have made it a definitional resource

19. cultural meanings gender age rebellion style showing cool showing warm mood manipulation (not all of these mutually exclusive)

20. gender smoking gets cultured loaded up with meaning more particularly smoking gets gendered as it turns out, in this culture it begins to take on maleness the military legacy the open range legacy the noir legacy (a partial list and hasty review)

21. a caveat “maleness” just as much a cultural construction as smoking we resist this reading with notions of the biological & natural but culture > nature this analysis treats “maleness” as a cultural construct (indeed the culture of smoking and culture of maleness have helped construct one another)

22. Lucky Strike war good to tobacco took soldiers off to places tobacco cheap & plentiful soldiers treated cigarettes the way prisoners do U.S. Generals Grant & Sherman British battleship Formidable Lucky Strike & US troops a clear cultural formulae war helps define “maleness” and smoking together smoking takes on “maleness”

23. Marlboro the mythical world of wild west more imagined than real rugged individuals rugged individualism freedoms of the open plain several notions of the frontier a clear cultural formulae frontier defines “maleness” and smoking together smoking takes on “maleness”

24. gumshoe tobacco smoking, prop of noir tradition Humphrey Bogart’s transformation: hood to hero defining image: HB squinting through a wall of smoke definition of resourcefulness symbol of self control, detachment, power a clear cultural formulae noir fiction defines “maleness” and smoking together smoking takes on “maleness”

25. tobacco and gender smoking taking on cultural meaning gendered with “male” meanings from domains of war, frontier and noir outside worlds worlds of action places of struggle and contest toughness, aggression smoking a marker of self and other mastery

26. the Camel caveat Camel’s originally an exercise in Said’s orientalism made to evoke not gendered meanings but colonial ones Marlboro began as a “female” brand & was regendered by the marketplace in sum: “maleness” not the only gendered meaning in smoking culture

27. smoking and males smoking puts a repertoire at the disposal of males at crucial developmental moment: when constructing maleness to create/claim certain qualities proof must be forthcoming smoking definitional, helps: “cure” the self burn off eagerness show toughness, aggression self & (for?) other mastery

28. smoking and females (circa 1998) gender under construction a rethinking of femaleness esp. Mary Tyler Moore  Cybil Marilyn  Madonna Madonna  Courtney Love Donna Reed  Roseanne Joan Baez  Ani DiFranco Phyllis Diller  Janeane Garofalo Barbara Walters  Kathy Griffin (updated) Ike & Tina Turner  Tina

29. gender breakout breaking out of the prison house of gender systematic refusal of old meanings assigned by gender systematic survey of new definitional opportunities taking possession of new meanings some of them apparently “male” meanings these will do nicely, thank you

30. Boy Capel’s pants long standing strategy Coco Chanel the designer btw the wars wore her lover’s riding pants the world held its breath a strategy to accompany that of the suffragette power of the vote power of rights of property now, the secrets of hegemony the very language of power

31. smoking and females Ani DiFranco as the key text coming of age in NA society the horrifying discovery “ that i live in a breakable, take-able body an ever-increasingly valuable body” (My IQ, Puddle Dive) the traditional qualities of “femaleness” are assumptions of vulnerability invitations to harassment coming of age as exposure to risk

32. smoking culture in action meanings of smoking useful allow females to summon cultural meanings against sexist definitions of the self allow construction of new selves with defensive properties several interpretive possibilities: I refuse trad. gender defs. (&?) I show invulnerability (&?) I corrupt myself before you do I corrupt myself so you cannot more work needed but one “benefit” of smoking culture

33. age age a matter of culture some cultures usher people into adulthood upon sexual maturity our culture makes a space between childhood & adulthood & provides no rite of passage always a contested transition “teen” claiming early entry parents demanding late people must fashion own passage claim & construct their maturity

34. smoking and age many things make smoking redolent of maturity one of the viseral experiences of the adults around you cigar smoke and starch but we are always saying “this is for adults” and now we do it as health policy smoking always forbidden fruit now especially so

35. vexing paradox the more we decry smoking the more we declare not for children and teens the more we mark it off as risk and danger the more attractive it becomes much of the health policy that has worked so well has only helped to increase this particular cultural meaning cause for other and new strategies

36. the promethean factor(?) it’s almost as if... (anthropological heresy) smoking is the fire/power of the Gods to steal this substance is to steal this power the thrill of that first cigarette the cunning, stealth, the liminal space, the stolen cigarette as close as anything gets to a rite of passage

37. the post-promethean factor(?) it’s almost as if... (caveat goes here) one respondent: it’s like fire coming out of your mouth is this a claiming of powers beyond the parental a claiming of powers beyond the bourgeois a claiming of powers unknown or repudiated by the adult a suggestion only

38. claiming age single most telling marker of youth, childhood is eagerness the way teens know children is by the latter’s excitableness the most embarrassing moment is the irruption of excitableness smoking a superb device for extinguishing eagerness at a stroke (?) eagerness is gone a useful way to prevent irruption

39. smoking culture in action cultural meanings of tobacco make smoking an opportunity to claim maturity to prosecute the case for new freedoms and privileges and new autonomy from parental control smoking culture provides home-made, self bestowed rite of passage another “benefit” of smoking culture

40. rebellion smoking as the badge of refusal the American cult of the outsider a James Dean Legacy now stock Hollywood image at the movies still “the villain always smokes” once largely male, less and less gendered (cf. Thelma & Louise) rule breaking the self damage logic (tattooing)

41. familiar paradox the more we decry smoking the more we declare not for children and teens the more we mark it off as risk and danger the more it becomes an opportunity to break rules to play out the outsider’s posture much of the health policy that has worked so well cause for other and new strategies

42. cosa nostra one respondent: It’s our thing do not tell us what to do inverted refusal under “age:” adults saying it’s our thing here: teens saying it’s our thing our badge of refusal we refuse your terms of engagement we will make our own way a key “benefit” of smoking culture

43. style and pattern the great induction to an arbitrary system the things you have to learn how to hold in hand hold in mouth to open, extract, hide, exchange to inhale, exhale highly patterned, specific big penalties for error getting to sprezzatura

44. messages in the bottle style the medium of many messages i.e., gender, age, rebellion place of hiding (see section 2) the opportunity for scrutiny: the line of tin cans marker of membership texture of social experience the stuff of an ancient culture ritual architecture of the moment sub-group differences: ravers...

45. smoking culture in action not hard wired but hot wired repeated until burned into muscle memory habitual knowledge difficult to learn deeply comforting to know a useful marker in the world the very door of induction the very stuff of “our thing” a “benefit” of smoking culture

46. the construction of cool a moment in the field very young teen makes mistake an error actually of style cigarette mishandled, disappears the collapse of the managed self momentary panic: coat in flames? then surveillance had cool produced by smoking been damaged by smoking? were friends smirking? yes! remarkably, his cool held

47. cool and power “ cool” in our culture several origins, several meanings our concern, disengagement Elizabethan cool men’s hearts be free and they will love whom they lyste we don’t have to show our compliance we may offer up obedience, but we will withhold this smoking as a show of withholding

48. cool as contract smoking invested with cool by military, Western, & noir trads. Humphrey Bogart as an early creature of cool self control at work in our culture, this community & incident but, more pressingly, cool is: distance and disengagement from the social moment a withholding, a show of discretionary power that participation is not coerced

49. smoking culture in action another message of messages distance from childhood refusal of parenthood protective barrier behind which the difficult business of self construction can be conducted a political message a statement of structural place in the world at the moment this place is disputed and negotiated a “benefit” of smoking culture

50. construction of warm smoking culture a rich one contains X and not-X easy to make too much of cool smoking also a means to be “warm” a way to show engagement, vividness to be present, engaged, excited more on this in section 2 another “benefit” smoking culture

51. the construction of threat the visual preemptive strike a way not just of declaring toughness (within or without gender idiom) also a way of declaring malevolent intent sometimes merely preemptive if you attack me, you can expect response in kind but sometimes more forthright I am to be feared “benefit” of smoking culture

52. mood manipulation respondents clear on use of smoking for “self medication” smoking as calming creates a place in space creates a moment in time creates a focus creates justification in a culture that treats inactivity as idleness creates an “away” experience change in focal plane disengagement not as politics but as palliative

53. mood manipulation highly structured, ritualized breaks individuals out of time and space gives pretext forgives, allows disengagement an opportunity to reestablish self possession and/or cool meanings working in concert smoking as place of respite smoking as reliable companion key “benefit” of smoking culture

54. section 2: cultural practices

55. smoking useful gets “social work” done from Canada’s contribution to social sciences: Irving Goffman highly strategic device in “impression management” & the presentation of self from Michael Silverstein highly strategic “meta-pragmatic function” how smoking helps get work done

56. sociality solitary smoking ticket of admission meeting someone (micro) license to join (macro) sustain self/role/occasion/face the problem of social smoking

57. solitary smoking solitary smoking is a social act there is a relationship between smoking and smoker writing, thinking, walking giving respite, separation, pacing, concentration “ portable world” phenomenon the companionable cigarette whatever happens at least I have my smokes building and maintaining the rlts with the self self management, meta-pragmatic function & benefit

58. ticket of admission smoking has still more powerful uses as instrument of sociality for some a ticket of admission one respondent: “I never came out here before I started smoking because I found everyone so intimidating” some spaces & friends off limits to many non-smokers cigarettes work crudely as badge of membership meta-pragmatic function & benefit

59. meeting someone a more micro social device smoking as pretext & text for meeting style and pattern of smoking offers permission and script you may approach to ask for a cigarette/drag/puff how you approach to ask for a cigarette/drag/puff & then manage relationships through exchange of smokes some social circles a Kula ring

60. sustaining performances at risk Goffman argues every social actor (teen or not) constantly at risk of error and loss of face what is not successfully “in process” at risk of coming undone nothing is utterly, definitively said or done in social life everything must be renewed and acquitted everyone inclined to social error, some teens esp. inclined to it

61. when things to wrong we are gifted with impression management strategies & meta-management strategies what to do when things go wrong pea on table; you cannot bale smoking as a perfect place of first resort finding, lighting, smoking all give pretexts for the removal, renewal, repair strategy and benefit without which you’re vulnerable

62. sustaining role/occasion in danger Goffman argues every social moment (teen or not) constantly at risk of error and loss of face what is not in process at risk of dissolution when things go wrong, they can get bad a great sliding into difficult arrest the slide or ... smoking culture to the rescue

63. section 3: strategic responses

64. smoking culture meanings in review gender age rebellion style cool warm threat mood real “benefits” true costs

65. smoking culture II practices in review solitary smoking joining a group establishing a relationship sustaining performances at risk smoking as text and pretext real “benefits” true costs

66. communications caveat I this group deeply suspicious of an adult world and more particularly of medical authority government authority marketing “persuasions” social scientists journalists popular culture makers (Hollywood, music...) they have seen the “man behind the curtain” they are not impressed

67. communications caveat II this is not a group that can be patronized that can be “played” that will respond to threats that will respond to promises that will respond to blandishments that will suffer fools gladly this group possesses media literacy they will spot artifice, stratagem all but the most candid, transparent strategies ill advised

68. communications caveat III they do not wish to be called “teens” they do not wish to be treated as a group (Jesse) they do not wish to be “played back” to themselves esp. not by an art director’s (or anthropologist) most important: don’t try to be one of them don’t try to be “cool” (or “warm”)

69. existing communications strategies government efforts in general recollected advertising health warnings on packages

70. government efforts in general evidence of accomplishment “scare the crap out of you and that’s good” “I remember the first time I saw the woman withering away, I went whoa” “they should go extreme, otherwise kids won’t here, they’re listening to MTV” mixed reviews

71. health warnings on package some approve: warning on boxes is good, a second thought some disregard some mock some collect and mock some rework to mock

72. problem with health warnings on package voice of authority voice of adult authority voice of adult government authority voice of adult government and medical authority “don’t tell me what I can and can’t do”

73. new communications strats when to intervene older to younger ad busting new warnings on pack media literacy website CD ROM anthropologist noticing how people smoke noticing all the things noticed here

74. when to intervene a crucial summer a liminal time no longer the lord of junior high no longer the captive of day care newly attentive to popular culture between programs a moment of vulnerability, opportunity, curiosity the moment to make contact

75. new strategies: older to younger it is clear that some younger teens smoke to establish credentials to join older teens they believe that they look older collect video of older teens saying otherwise e.g., “they look disparate to me, like they are trying to hard” this is teens talking to teens through intermediary of government

76. new strategies: ad busting we know that the corporate connection helps sensitize teens to smoking we know there is activism here we know there is an “anti-smoking culture” in the works encourage “anti-smoking culture” encourage ad busting ideology this is teens by teens for teens

77. new strategies: health warnings design according to teen suggestions, e.g., person’s face before and after smoking tongue cancer, throat cancer x-ray of cancerous lung wake-up stupid cancer cell mutating a crowd of people standing around a hospital bed you’re cool

78. new strategies: noticing media (media literacy) create materials for school boards and websites encourage media literacy courses at younger age supply movie footage, advertising reels, print ads supply some “things to look for” possibilities leave it to teens to instruct teens wait for adbusting perspective to emerge

79. new strategies: noticing smoking culture (anthropology) create materials for school boards and websites encourage “culture busting” a sensitivity that encourages self consciousness and intervention supply movie footage, etc. supply some noticing possibilities leave teens to instruct teens wait for culture busting sentiment to emerge

80. new strategies: website & CD delivery vehicle for classrooms & noticing media and noticing smoking culture programs archive movie clips TV & print tobacco ads ethnograpic video critiquing opportunities old communications proposed communications voting & comment systems (for CD) chat line

81. new strategies: “smokes and booze” strategy Avi Lewis’ New Music treatment “Smokes and Booze” new penetration of beer & cigarette marketing in rock clear discomfort on part of musicians & fans create “musicians against tobacco” campaign fund each band contributes % of tobacco supported work  bands come clean creates a concert system that needs no Tobacco Ind. support  industry/fans come clean

82. summary objectives methods research smoking culture section 1 cultural meanings section 2 cultural practices section 3 strategic responses conclusion