Stigmatization and public health: The dark-side of anti-smoking interventions

Abstract

Tobacco control strategies, considered legitimate and effective, are rarely the subject of critical analysis in France. This is specifically true with regard to their potentially harmful effects, particularly against people who continue to smoke. This article introduces this debate, focusing on the potentially stigmatizing effects of anti-smoking policies. It has been attested by numerous international studies, and by a study in France, that the general process of tobacco denormalization has led to the stigmatization of smokers who then may be subject to discrimination. To the extent that smoking is now concentrated in the most disadvantaged socio-economic populations in France, the latter are thus more exposed to stigma. While underscoring the need to develop targeted interventions against them, this article also warns and calls for vigilance regarding the potential iatrogenic effects of these interventions. It is therefore necessary to develop research and evaluations on this subject in order to accurately measure the effects of these interventions, particularly in terms of stigmatization and self-stigma, and to ensure that public health actors do not generate more problems than they solve.