Nicotine Use, in an Essay on Drugs and Work

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Nicotine Use
by Andrew D. Carson, Ph.D.

Nicotine -- found in tobacco products -- is a drug with mixed effects (but especially stimulant effects) used by a good portion of workers across much of the World. Smoke-filled rooms were once common in workplaces in the United States, but there its use in the workplace has in general declined rapidly in recent years, although its use in some occupations remains common, and in many nations (especially Eastern Europe and Asia; Parker-Pope, 2001) its use has continued unabated. There are now excellent social histories available for cigarettes (Parker-Pope) and tobacco in general (Schivelbusch, 1992/1980). According to Schivelbusch, the social psychological use of smoking has remained -- since the time of its first introduction into Europe after its introduction to European explorers by American Indians -- as "a surrogate activity that calms, relaxes, and at the same time aids concentration" (p. 111). Much the same claims are made today for the effects of Ritalin on individuals with attention deficit disorder.

Smoking nicotine is also a social activity; according to Parker-Pope (2001), smoking (especially in the forms of cigarettes) "is a social ritual" (p. vii). In many workplaces in the USA, smokers must remove themselves to special places in order to smoke, which they often do together. This if frequently just outside the door of the building in which the employee works. Thus sequestered, the smokers may feel marginalized, and in a sense form a dissident group within the company, stealing away a few minutes to smoke instead of work. Conversations during such breaks frequently turn to discussions of work and other employees, and not infrequently about the differences between smoking and non-smoking employees. My observations of such discussions suggests that, when smoking with one another, smokers become sociable and almost club-like. Because many companies (or the health services with which the companies contract as part of employee benefits) also support smoking cessation programs, smoking employees receive a not-so-subtle message that their smoking is in large measure frowned on by the company.

However, it is also true that in some occupations, smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption are, if not encouraged, certainly not discouraged. For example, many of the musicians involved with creating music for teens apparently smoke. Many baseball players chew tobacco. But in the USA, smoking in the workplace is on the wane and has been for some time. However,

Finally, in some other nations smoking remains common, including in the workplace. In China and Eastern Europe, for example, smoking remains a staple of life in many workplaces. And large companies--many based in the United States--continue to build lucrative foreign markets for their tobacco (Parker-Pope, 2001).

Given the apparent health-risks posed by smoking and other uses of tobacco, one might wonder what effects working in the industry has on its employees. The comic strip Doonesbery explored this issue when its lead character, Mike Doonesbury, had to struggle with the guilt associated with having built his advertising career on cigarette campaigns. Doonesbury's author, Gary Trudeau, created the character "Mr. Butts" to put a face on the tobacco industry. The industry has also had its share of workers turned key whistleblowers (see Parker-Pope, p. 149), perhaps more than any other industry. Finally, one might examine the nature of occupationism against individuals working in the cigarette industry, an issue I have discussed elsewhere (Carson, 1992).

Links:
Nicotine (from Encyclopedia.com)
Nicotine Addiction (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (In English, French, and German language versions).
Phillip-Morris Company responds to National Cancer Institute report, claims there is no safe cigarette.
The Marlboro Man: The Making of an American Image, by Katherine West.
Smoking at Work: Still a Burning Issue (Nolo.com), reviews laws that govern smoking int he workplace.
Smoke in the Workplace (Government of Saskatchewan, Canada).
History of Tobacco, Part I, by Gene Borio.
The Peace Pipe Ceremony among American Indians.
The Duke Homestead and Tobacco Museum.
Review of Cigarettes: Anatomy of an Industry, From Seed to Smoke, by Tara Parker-Pope.
Notes on smoking in China, by Yang Hongtai, published through the United States embassy in China.
Mr. Butts, the comic representation of the tobacco industry in the comic strip Doonesbury.

References to citations in the text.

Credits:
1 tobacco cigarettes. Believed to be in the public domain, from http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/prevention/govphoto.html