Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1506051
76 tobaccoasia Issue 5, 2023 September / October Staff Report Over the past 50 years or so smoking went from being a normal (if not even popular) activity to one that is increasingly stigmatized. The direction public health policies and the anti-smoking move- ment is taking is extending the stigma on smoking to smokers, next generation products (NGP), and now even to tobacco plants. This stigma, char- acterized by negative judgments and social isola- tion towards smokers and NGP users, as well as efforts to convince tobacco farmers to fall in line with the ideology that planting tobacco crops is taking away valuable land that could be used to grow food crops and save the world from hunger, might inadvertently undermine the very goals the anti-tobacco movement seeks to achieve. A study in 2006 by sociologist Hannah Farri- mond and psychologist Helene Joffe found that non-smokers used terms such as 'outcast', 'lepers', 'under-class', "persecuted', and 'blacklisted' to de- scribe smokers. A 2008 study by Jennifer Stuber et al interviewed people in New York City and Stigmatizing the Smoking Stigma found that 81% of respondents 'would not hire a smoker to take care of their children', 72% 'would be reluctant to date someone who smokes', 21% 'believe smoking is a sign of personal failure', and 39% said 'most people think less of a person who smokes.' These opinions by society unfortunately has persisted till even now. Smokers find them- selves increasingly stigmatized, and their right to make informed decisions to smoke or not taken away from them in many aspects. Effective tobacco control should center around empowering smokers to make informed choices rather than shaming them into compli- ance. The anti-smoking stigma often reinforces feelings of shame and guilt among smokers. As we have seen from stigmatizing conditions such as depression or HIV infections rather than foster- ing an environment conducive to positive change, stigmatization can lead to heightened stress, anxi- ety, shame, and a lack of effectiveness all around. Smokers who feel judged and marginalized are The anti-smoking stigma could create more harm than any good policy-makers and thought leaders expected.