YOU GET THE NICOTINE AND THAT IN YOUR BLOOD - CONSTRUCTIONS OF ADDICTION AND CONTROL IN WOMENS ACCOUNTS OF CIGARETTE-SMOKING

In this study discourse analysis was used in order to gain a greater u nderstanding of the multiple meanings that women smokers attach to cig arette smoking. The discursive constructions used by women to explain and justify their smoking behaviour were identified by analysing the t ranscripts of four semi-structured interviews. All respondents framed their accounts of cigarette smoking within a discourse of addiction, r eflecting the prevalence of this construction within the disciplines o f medicine, psychology and health promotion. The deterministic and dis empowering implications of this discourse are discussed in relation to the subsequent identification of constructions of control and self-re gulation which were utilized by most of the respondents. This article also discusses the significance and implications of these discursive c onstructions to health promotion efforts. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Son s, Ltd.