The naturalization of nonsmoking. A grounded theory study of smoking cessation

Abstract

Aim: Most tobacco smokers have attempted to quit smoking, but they find it challenging to succeed in these attempts. Still, some people do manage to stop. The present study was set to explore the nature of a successful quit attempt and what differentiates it from failed attempts.

Methods: We used a constructivist grounded theory methodology. The constructed theory was developed from the accounts of participants’ first-hand experiences of becoming a nonsmoker.

Results: The theory developed in this paper uncouples the process of giving up smoking from the one of becoming a nonsmoker and it focuses on the latter. The theory also introduces the concept of ‘nonsmoking’ as a contextually framed and relational practice. The theory proposes that it is the practice and naturalization of nonsmoking, and not giving up smoking per se, that leads smokers to become nonsmokers. The naturalization of ‘nonsmoking’ is facilitated by interacting with what is here called a nonsmoking milieu, a context where nonsmoking is a normal social practice. This interaction enables processes different from giving up smoking, which in turn advance the naturalization of nonsmoking.

Conclusion: The theory explains the process of becoming a nonsmoker as a relational and contextually sensitive one. It moves beyond an individual-focused understanding of the process, and underscores the benefits of reexamining assumptions embedded in how smoking cessation is commonly approached.

Keywords:

• Tobacco
• smoking cessation
• qualitative research
• grounded theory
• identity
• social theory

Disclosure statement

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