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Why Do Europeans Smoke So Much? Section A
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, July 13, 2007
Part 4 of series: European Reflections 2006
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In my last post I noted that Europeans, in general, smoke more than Americans, in general. (Only the Swedes smoke less than Americans.) Plus, much of European smoking occurs in public places, even though many countries have laws limiting such activity, just as in the U.S. I was pleasantly surprised, for example, to find a snack bar/pub in the Nice airport that was designated no smoking, and nobody was smoking there. (Photo to the right: A sign in a cafe in the airport in Nice, France)
I wonder why Europeans smoke more than Americans. My puzzlement is increased by the fact that Europeans tend to be more health conscious than Americans. For example, the obesity rate for the U.S. is about three times that of Europe (see David M. Cutler and Edward L. Glaeser, Why Do Europeans Smoke More Than Americans?, Figure 2; you can download a PDF here). Moreover, Europeans are usually more liberal than Americans, and in my experience, liberals are more apt than conservatives to restrict smoking and to demonize smokers. So, given Europe’s health consciousness and liberalism, I would expect less smoking in Europe, not more. Thus my wonderment: Why do Europeans smoke more than Americans?
If you have any pet theories of your own, I’d love to hear them. Please add them to the comments section of this blog entry. Meanwhile, I’ll report in on three of my own ideas.
Reason #1: Europeans Smoke More Because They’re Less Aware of the Health Risks Associated with Smoking
Reason #1 is not my own. It’s the conclusion of a recent study by two researchers, David M. Cutler and Edward L. Glaeser. According to Cutler and Glaeser, Europeans do indeed smoke more than Americans, a fact that is made even more surprising by the higher price of cigarettes in Europe and the larger number of anti-smoking regulations. So what accounts for this unexpected difference? “Almost one-half of the smoking difference appears to be the result of differences in beliefs about the health effects of smoking; Europeans are generally less likely to think that cigarette smoking is harmful.”
Of course Europeans have access to the same information about the dangers of smoking that Americans do. But, according to Cutler and Glaeser, anti-smoking activism is much more prevalent in the U.S. than in Europe. While staying with some friends in France, we confirmed this observation. Their four children, who were educated in French schools, heard very little about the health risks associated with smoking. By contrast, my children began learning about such things in kindergarten, and it was emphasized year after year. I remember my kindergarten-aged daughter talking as if all smokers were sure to drop dead in a moment. (As a non-smoker, I didn’t mind my daughter’s bias. But it did seem like the school was exaggerating just a bit.)
In my next post in this series I’ll put up two additional reason why, in my opinion, Europeans smoke more than Americans.
Topics: European Reflections |
4 Responses to “Why Do Europeans Smoke So Much? Section A”
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July 13th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I’ve asked my smoking friends why they smoke; I never have. I have yet to get an answer, or at least what seems like a satisfactory answer.
Most smokers begin in their teenage years so I suspect the reasons are focused on teen issues. The main one being with self identification and differentiation from others. This is especially true for males who also want to appear virile. Remember the classic picture of young males gathered on the street corner trying to appear tough. Cigarette companies have done whatever they could to promote this image with the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel. Movies also trade on this image.
Males in some European countries seem really invested in the strong male persona. In England, because of the economic situation, kids often live with their parents for much longer than is the case in the U.S. In this situation the rite of passage into adulthood is blurred and maybe the new adults need some way to signal their emancipation.
In my opinion people begin smoking for image reasons. In my youth it was taken for granted that adult males smoke. In my teen years the cool rebels smoked. Those that did not smoke just were not “in.” I also believe that the reasons are very much the same in, at least, England and Greece, two places I have lived.
When you have to obtain your self-image from the society around you the props you use are key in that definition. In this light, cigarettes say: “I’m a man!”
July 13th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I’ve had female friends who smoked, particularly in college, who did so because it helped them control their appetite and weight. They were will to accept long-term risks of smoking for the short-term weight benefits.
August 27th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
You wrote:
“I wonder why Europeans smoke more than Americans. My puzzlement is increased by the fact that Europeans tend to be more health conscious than Americans. For example, the obesity rate for the U.S. is about three times that of Europe…”
I just returned from three weeks in Greece. While I was gone I was thinking about the question you imply above. It occurred to me that it could very well have been phrased the other way about:
“I wonder why Americans are more obese than Europeans. My puzzlement is increased by the fact that Americans tend to be more health conscious than Europeans. For example, the smoking rate for Europe is considerably higher that of the U.S…”
My impression is that Europeans are not particularly more health conscious than Americans. In fact, I might argue that Americans are more than just conscious of health but obsessed with it (while overeating). I wonder if Europeans are simply more conscious of appearance and that accounts for their lower weights. Or perhaps their lifestyle just happens to coincide with a diet that, on average, leads to a thinner population.
Anyway, I know this is an OLD thread and it is quite likely that no one will see my comment. Still, it’s something I’ve been thinking about since shortly after the original post was written.
October 13th, 2009 at 6:16 am
I have enjoyed reviewing the different perspectives on this complex and interesting issue. As a young graduate student, I too have tried to explain this issue, but mostly within the framework of psychological theories. One insight, and it should be noted that I believe it’s a combination of many things, is that Europe (esp France) had a major trauma to their collective self-esteem during WWII. In fact, France had an all out surrender to the Germans. Many theorist link self-esteem to a strong need for one to have cultural immortality. Further, the theory of cognitive dissonance states that people low in self-esteem will change their believes (i.e. that tobacco is bad for them) in order to be more comfortable with the discomfort from their beliefs clashing with their behavior. Just a thought, pardon any spelling errors. thx, d.