A Qualitative Study of Smoker Identity Among College Student Smokers

Background: This research was motivated by findings that college students who smoke cigarettes often self-categorize as nonsmokers, that is, they reject the social identity of smoker. Objectives: The goal of the present study was to shed light on college students' smoker identities beyond the smoker/nonsmoker dichotomy. Methods: Focus groups were conducted to investigate how college students categorize their own smoking patterns and to identify what behaviors and attitudes are associated with these different categories of smoker identities. Forty-one students from a western university participated in this study in November 2011. Results: The focus group results indicated that there were five distinct smoker identities on campus. Light and regular smokers were the daily smoker identities present, while stress, social, and drunk smokers were the occasional smoker identities. Moreover, each of these smoker identities was defined by a unique pattern of smoking behavior, attitudes, and motives. Conclusions/Importance: These findings support the notion that there are different types of smokers, both daily and occasional, in the college population. We suggest that researchers, healthcare providers, and prevention/intervention programs may all benefit from distinguishing between these different types of smokers.