220
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

The toxic gift: reciprocity and social capital in cigarette exchange in China

ORCID Icon, & ORCID Icon
Pages 309-325 | Received 05 Aug 2021, Accepted 06 Apr 2022, Published online: 05 May 2022
 

ABSTRACT

The widespread exchange of tobacco cigarettes as a gift in some societies normalises the symbolic desirability of tobacco products and promotes smoking. Little is known about how and why people exchange toxic substances as gifts. This study argues two key factors involved in social exchange processes – reciprocity and social capital – can explain gift cigarette circulation. We conducted a multistage survey among household heads from China and measured the quantity and monetary values of outgoing and incoming gift cigarettes circulated by each household and measured social capital in three dimensions: collective participation, social ties, and trust. Ordinary Least Square regressions showed that reciprocity is strongly and significantly associated with both the value and quantity of gift cigarettes. All three dimensions of social capital are varyingly associated with gifting cigarettes. Income and higher classes are also associated with greater quantity and value of received cigarettes. This study broadens the phenomenon of gifting cigarettes to the more universal patterns of reciprocity and social capital, wherein better social capital and socioeconomic position ironically lead to a higher risk of tobacco use and endanger health. We suggest policymakers target the endemic social need for gift exchange in China’s informal economy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Additional analyses using the combined student and the head of household samples showed no major changes in the results, wherein the threshold p-values of key variables remain intact.

Additional information

Funding

This study received support from the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province [grant number 2018A030307002).

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.