Addiction as a Social Process

The use of e-cigarettes has skyrocketed over the past decade, global sales reached USD $7.1 Billion in 2016, and are expected to grow considerably in coming years. The rising popularity of electronic cigarettes has created an intense debate within public health and and tobacco control, and there are two clear opposing arguments. The most prevalent view is that e-cigarettes pose a threat to health by maintaining the addiction of tobacco addicted users and their potential to weaken the denormalization of tobacco usage. Critics of electronic cigarettes often bring up their appeal to children due to their discrete nature and easy access. On the other hand, e-cigarettes have been known to reduce tobacco harm by assisting smokers to quit. From this perspective, it can be seen that the use of e-cigarettes is a safer way to consume nicotine, appealing to smokers who have not been able to quit using other methods. Research supports how e-cigarettes can be useful as a smoking cessation aid. Users have reported that the use of electronic cigarettes has assisted them to quit smoking, consequently improving their well-being.

While there is an abundance of literature on the health effects of vaping, it is important to explore the use of electronic cigarettes through theories of practice. If we look at vaping as a social practice that interacts with other social practices, it can be revealed why e-cigarette use has translated itself in the patterns of everyday life. In a recent article, Blue et al. contend that theories of practice give us an effective model for responding to public health issues such as smoking. They argue there are two superior approaches to health-related risk factors, an individualistic focus on behavior, and a structural focus on social determinants that have not been able to successfully curb patterns of consumption. Many health campaigns focus on make assumptions about habits and choice by putting blame on individuals, and this method has been widely critiqued as ineffective. ‘Social determinants of health’, in response to the drawbacks of targeting individuals, approach this issue by emphasizing the role of wider social structures. Though Blue et al. points out that a structural approach still involves targeting the individual. Rather, they suggest that theories of practice are more apt to alter the public health field by directing attention to social practices in place of individual behaviors.

Blue et al. supplies an effective and brief case study of smoking as a social practice that illustrates what happens when we view ‘the smoker’ as a target of intervention. They focus on the life course and historical development of smoking and how it is tied to other social practices such as consuming alcohol. Blue et al. points out that practices such as smoking often continue due to their ability to ‘bundle’ with other practices, therefore the fate of one practice is prone to affect the fate of other practices. Analyzing smoking as a social process is particularly interesting because of its persistence despite regulatory intervention and health warnings. Following this discourse, it appears individuals have a difficult time quitting because the addictive properties of nicotine have created both psychological and physiological dependencies.

The relation between smoking and vaping as practices that co-exist is very complex. For many smokers, vaping has pushed smoking out of their lives. This reality demonstrates competition between two methods of consuming nicotine, where one has been forced out by society and led to the growth of the other. The use of e-cigarettes also changes the symbolism of smoking and the experience of nicotine addiction. Analyzing nicotine addiction as a social practice gives insights on how health behaviors are experienced in daily life. A survey of Australian vapers suggests vaping takes on positive meanings such as health and freedom and creates a different experience of control and choice. Practicing adaptability and responsiveness to change when dealing with smoking and vaping is particularly important in order to magnify desired outcomes.