From social accessory to societal disapproval: Smoking, social norms and tobacco endgames

Described as ‘unwritten rules’,1 social norms affect how we interact with others, define which practices we regard as acceptable and serve as heuristics that simplify our decision-making. Norms evolve as shared practices, then become embedded within social groups; once established, they shape and reinforce perceptions of commonly practised behaviours (ie, descriptive norms) that attract social approval or disapproval (ie, injunctive norms).2 Because normative practices may define social group membership and serve as markers of identity and belonging, they become self-enforcing and help to attract new members.3–5

Environments play a critical role in enabling and supporting practices, and thus in creating and embedding social norms. For example, dispensing cigarettes to soldiers and providing ashtrays in public areas signalled smoking’s acceptability, reinforced its normativity within specific settings and helped entrench it as a social practice.6–8 However, environments may also discourage and extinguish social practices. More recently, smoke-free signage has declared that smoking is not acceptable within designated settings,9 10 while removal of large in-store tobacco displays sharply differentiated tobacco from normal consumer goods.