NICOTINE AND NORMS: THE RE-EMERGENCE OF A DEVIANT BEHAVIOR.

This study investigates historical and on-going changes in the social control of cigarette smoking and emphasizes the moral, political, organizational. and economic forces which have influenced changes in smoking behavior. Social controls have ranged from a complete ban on cigarette smoking in 14 states at the turn of the century, to the post World War II period when smoking was an established part of the American scene, to the various federal and administrative regulations of today. Two measures of per capita consumption of cigarettes over the past decade have fluctuated widely in accordance with the history of that period. Although health considerations have influenced consumption patterns, data collected by the Federal Government show that moral considerations are probably more important, and that today many cigarette smokers label themselves as deviant. The future bodes greater control over the sale, advertising, and consumption of cigarettes, although prohibition of adult smoking is unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]