Sociocultural Reasons for Tobacco Consumption in France
DOI
10.22191/buuj/6/1/1
Faculty Sponsor
William Pavlovich
Abstract
In order to understand the high rates of tobacco consumption in France, various aspects of French culture and law were analyzed. After seeing the actual number of people considered daily smokers in France by organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), it was considered multiple aspects of French culture that might enhance tobacco consumption practices. Through comparing these practices with the United States, along with the perspectives people have about smoking in these two countries (US and France), it is shown how the perception of a practice in a certain place could determine how much this practice is done by people in that place. That way, after comparing the perception of smoking practices in France and the United States, it was shown that while in the US smoking is stigmatized, in France it is not. Consequently, in France, smoking is more commonly practiced than in the United States. France has a strong restaurant eating culture and tobacco consuming might be strongly correlated to eating out in restaurants. Thus, after analyzing the concept of craving and how much a person’s environment could trigger craving a drug (tobacco, in this case), it could be seen that in France, where the environment is so welcoming to smoke tobacco, it is easy for a tobacco consumer to maintain this practice for years in France. Lastly, the social environment might play a significant role in tobacco consumption, especially in a place where such practice is not stigmatized but welcomed. After analyzing these aspects and seeing how each one plays a significant role in the tobacco consumption practices in France, it was concluded that it is the accumulation of these various factors that enhance smoking in France, that explain why this practice is so commonly seen in this country.
Recommended Citation
Ezeiza Ortega, M. (2020). Sociocultural Reasons for Tobacco Consumption in France. Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.22191/buuj/6/1/1
