‘Kids who smoke think that they can be adults as well’: Children’s smoking and transitions to adulthood

Milton, Beth; Dugdill, L; Porcellato, L; Springett, RJ

Abstract

This article aims to explore the ways in which preadolescents associate smoking with transitions
to adulthood, in the context of sociological theories of childhood, using data from the
Liverpool Longitudinal Study of Smoking. The research found that at age 9 many of the cohort
argued that smoking was more acceptable for adults because they had bigger bodies than children.
Some children also suggested that smoking was appropriate for adults because adults
were competent to make important decisions and to balance risks. By age 11, when several of
the cohort had actually tried smoking, children’s views about the risks smoking posed to their
bodies had altered, and many children were aware of smoking-related disease among adults.
The cohort also suggested that some children might take up smoking to demonstrate that they
are ‘grown up’ too. In the UK, legal restrictions on the age of tobacco purchase are reinforced
by social norms that construct smoking as an activity that is only suitable for adults. The goal
of legal restrictions that ban the sale of cigarettes to children is to protect their health. The
unintended outcome, however, is that for many young people smoking is a way of demonstrating
maturity and adult status.

Citation

Milton, B., Dugdill, L., Porcellato, L., & Springett, R. (2008). ‘Kids who smoke think that they can be adults as well’: Children’s smoking and transitions to adulthood. Children & Society, 22(4), 291-302. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2007.00109.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2008
• Deposit Date: Feb 26, 2010
• Journal: Children & Society
• Print ISSN: 0951-0605
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 291-302
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2007.00109.x
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2007.00109.x