Roger's Diffusion of Innovations: Anti-Smoking Sentiment

Roger's Diffusion of Innovations: Anti-Smoking Sentiment 

In the past, smoking was a natural part of US culture. It was as normal as sipping a drink casually amidst a social event. A majority of people smoked, or at least knew a friend or family member that did. Nowadays, the number of people who smoke or use tobacco products is significantly smaller. This is due to the increased knowledge of the effects these products have on the body and research that continues to emerge. The model above, using Rogers Diffusion of Innovations, shows the events I find most significant in leading to anti-smoking sentiment.

The model starts with the pioneers of the movement. In 1954, research was posted in the British Medical Journal by Richard Doll and A. Bradford Hill that linked smoking and lung cancer. This was one of the first times research like this was conclusive and available to the public to see. Effects weren't seen in drastic measures following the release, but I believe it to be the kickstart of a movement moving away from tobacco products and towards a healthier society.

Next are the early adopters in the model. This takes it a step further from early pioneers. In 1966, the first warnings about cigarettes and the consequences for using them were integrated on the actual cigarette pack. This was due in part to congressional legislation making tobacco companies required to add these labels to their packaging. The warnings on these packages read, "Caution- cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health."

Twenty one years later, in 1987,  Aspen Colorado became the first area in the nation to require smoke free restaurants. Up until this point, smoking in public spaces was a normal part of life. Even if you were not a smoker, you became accustomed to people smoking in confined spaces, in places like restaurants, bars and even airplanes. Back then, people were not aware of the consequences of smoking, and definitely didn't understand the idea of secondary smoke. My dad was never a smoker. He never enjoyed the smell or being around it and never once took a puff from a cigarette. His parents at the time didn't know the effects their smoking would have on their son. He developed severe asthma from this, which has slowed him down his whole life from playing sports and participating in physical exertion of any sort. This ban in Colorado started to really open peoples eyes to the dangers of smoking, especially in close-knit areas.

The tipping point of anti-smoking sentiment occurred in 2002. The American Lung Association did a lot of advocacy work resulting in the state of Delawares statewide smoke free law. This was the first state in several years to have made a law like this. This action acted as a catalyst for many other states to go smoke free. The early 2000's because of this saw a lot of changes in regards to opinions about smoking and cigarette use.

Next in the model are what consists of late adopters. The moment I thought best correlated with the anti-smoking sentiment movement was the articles released by the Institute of medicine in 2015. This new report was titled "Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age for Purchasing Tobacco Products." This article concluded that raising the minimum age to 21 in order to legally purchase tobacco products would significantly reduce the rates of young people smoking and initiating smoking. In response to this report in 2015, Hawaii raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 do do what the article stated. Later, eighteen states followed suit doing the same thing. 

Lastly, are the laggards of the diffusion model. I chose to highlight 2018, the year that devices like electronic cigarettes took off. And, although rates of smoking and consumption of tobacco products is not nearly as high as it once was, the use of these e-cig devices has increased, especially among the younger generations. Designed to help people stop smoking, these devices contain candy-like flavors that are indirectly marketed to the younger population, not just smokers looking to quit. Recently, there has been a lot of studies and research released related to their hazardous health effects. In this future, this will likely result in anti-vaping sentiment diffusion model of its own. 



https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/01/archives/tobacco-industrys-peak-year-523-billion-cigarettes-smoked.html

https://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/tobacco/reports-resources/sotc/tobacco-timeline.html