In the contemporary society, there are various efforts which have been put to ensure that there is a reduction in the rate of cigarette smoking globally. This has followed the increase in the number of people smoking cigarettes on a daily basis. This results in adverse consequences on their health and subsequently affects those around them as well as the economy of a country. As such, many campaigns have been set up to try and educate people on the need to avoid smoking cigarettes using adverts in the television and billboards and also ensuring that the message is passed across in schools. This essay will focus on Elias theory ‘Civilizing Process’ to understand the reasons as to why cigarette smoking is considered repugnant and shamed by various activities. In addition to this, it will draw on stratification theory by Weber, to understand how the social structures lead to changes during the civilization process. As such, with societies advancing through various periods, habits such as cigarette smoking have come to be associated with the uncivilized communities as they are repugnant and at the same time affect people directly and indirectly.
The Civilizing Process
As developed by Elias, the social structure and the personality of people has a close interrelationship in that when the social structure changes, the person’s personality will also change significantly (Elias & Dunning, 2010). As a result, therefore, this results in more changes in the social structure. Notably, individuals are oriented to exist in interdependent relations by nature and also nurture. It is only through these interdependencies that human being defines their self and also the world. As such, a change in these figurations results to changes in the personality structures. Hence, by large, that figuration can be said to be independent if the person who makes it up at that particular time. Thus its character, as well as its form by far, orients people to one another.
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However, a point to note is that other the form and the character of the figuration are highly dependent on the historical as well as the contemporary individuals who make them up. As such, the society and the individual become inseparable. Over time, therefore, societies have been able to put recommendations and restrictions on various habits across various generations without any conscious control or coordination by the social structure or individuals. The changes have included ever stricter controls as well as impulses and emotions in public as well as in private. Subsequently, the changes thereby include advance in shame as well as embarrassments regarding our nature. Elias roots the changes in the “concurrent changes of social structure and enlargement and centralization of authority structure” (Elias & Dunning, 2010). This he closely associates with the current monopoly, by the state, on forces and also taxation and the subsequent development of interdependence which is fostered by an increment in the division of labour. This shows how some habits which were practiced by societies previously become discouraged such as how cigarette smoking in the contemporary society is becoming discouraged.
Stratification Theory
The stratification theory by Weber plays a significant role in the development of the Elias theory of the civilizing process. This is because; the civilizing process is driven by the changes which happen in the social structure (Lenski, 2013). As mentioned by Weber, there are three components of stratification, that is, class, power, and status. These three components have a great influence on the lives of the individual as well as others around them. He notes that when an individual holds power, they can have control over the other social resources. Thus an individual can show their power through the social, economic or class order. In this, therefore, people become categorized in hierarchical order according to the class, status and the power that they have. Thus depending on the positions that the individual is, this affects their personality and how they relate to each other. Some characteristics become associated with a particular group in the hierarchical order which over time become internalized. For instance, in the case of cigarette smoking, as noted by Lenski, (2013). The behaviour is associated with those who belong to the middle and low class such as the homeless people as it is prevalent among them.
Application of the theory
According to the Elias theory, as the personality of people change this has a direct influence on the social structure (Elias & Dunning, 2010). This affects the behaviours that people adopt and those which they chose to abandon. Subsequently, the new behaviours are termed as civilized, and people are encouraged to adopt them. More so those in power ensure that the civilized behaviours are integrated as noted by Weber, in social stratification theory. This applies to the case of cigarette smoking which, as the societies continue in the civilization process, a majority f them are being discouraged from the behaviour. Currently, it is associated with those in the lower social status and is slowly being considered uncivilized among those in upper classes. More commonly during official meetings and in offices, such practices are highly discouraged.
Nonetheless, in the past, cigarette smoking was not common among many people in various societies as only a few of them could afford the commodity. As such, only those in the upper-class structure would be able to afford the cigarettes. Moreover, smoking was only practiced by men as the society considered this as appropriate. A woman who was found smoking was looked down upon by the entire society. However, as time passed by, more company came up and developed the commodities. Subsequently, with the easy access of the commodity, even those in the middle class were now able to buy it. Unconsciously, the norm that the cigarette was only for the rich in the society became repressed. Any individual who was able to afford it would now take it as it was free. Gradually, women were also allowed to smoke, but a majority of them could not do in the public arena. As such, they smoked at the comfort of their homes where there were assured that they would not face criticism and condemnation. Several decades ago they were now able to smoke both in private and public sphere. This led to the normalization of smoking and a subsequent outbreak in the number of people using the cigarette.
In the contemporary society, however, there are many changes which have come up that has resulted in the society being stricter to cigarette smoking habits. To begin with, through the medical research and medical cases reported in the hospitals, these habits have resulted in adverse health challenges (Poland, 2006). One of the health challenges of the commodity is the development of lung and throat cancers which if left untreated it can be fatal. The treatment of the condition is expensive, and only a few people can afford it. As a result, therefore, a majority of the victims stay at home and succumb to the related illnesses. In some cases the family of the affected individual end up selling their household items to afford the treatment. Not only does the victim get affected, but also those around them end up being affected. Subsequently, with the individual affected, this affects productivity which in turn slows the development of a nation. The people are unable to pay taxes which are fundamental to developing a nation. Moreover, many non-governmental and governmental resources have been consecrated to help such victims.
People have been able to understand the social problems which have come about as a result of smoking, thereby making efforts to ensure that the behaviour declines significantly. Among the stricter measures being to place in the contemporary society by people in authority is the use of media as a tool for sensitizing people on the need for avoiding cigarettes (Poland, 2006). The media is a powerful tool which is able to bring significant changes within a short duration. Notably, many people in the media fraternity hold social power, and as such their advice, recommendation or correction appeals to many people and has a significant influence on them. As such, many advertisements have been made with a majority of people being invited to make people understand the dangers of the same. Another popular way is making the companies producing the cigarettes to ensure that they earn the consumers of the danger of their products. This ensures that the client is not lured to taking the product without the knowledge of its harm.
Subsequently, laws and regulations have been established over selling such products to children below a specified age in various countries. Also, pregnant women are highly advised to avoid smoking as it has effects on the unborn child (Poland, 2006). For those who are already addicted to smoking, there are substitutes which have developed medically to enable them to quit smoking over a period. Furthermore, at workplaces, many employs are adopting a ‘no smoking’ policy to ensure that there is a reduction in the habit of smoking. Others designate only a few minutes to employees who smoke during work hours as a means of making sure that they are not spending much time smoking. The religious bodies have also not been left out in shaming the practice and discouraging he congregation from engaging in it (Poland, 2006). Various governmental efforts have also been made to sensitize people on the need to stop such practices. As such, from the Elias civilizing process, as people are aiming to achieve civilizations, such habits as smoking cigarettes are being discouraged as they are seen to cause many social problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, cigarette smoking in the contemporary society is highly discouraged due to the social problems that it present. As noted by Elias in the civilizing process, the personality of the individual and the social structure are interdependent. As such, a change in one leads to changes in the other. As people progress, they tend to feel shy and embarrassed over certain behaviours, and thus they develop stricter rules to deal away with them. In this case, the habit of smoking over time has been unappealing to people due to their effects, and thus many rules have been made. For instance, the media has made efforts to discourage such behaviours. The government has also made such rules to reduce the consumption of the cigarettes by children and pregnant women. At work also there are rules which have been developed to do away with the behaviours. Weber in the stratification theory shows how power class and status can influence a particular course of action that leads to what is considered as civilized. The government and the non-governmental organizations all use their power to influence various policies to curb the practise. From this theory, it is clear how smoking becomes shamed in the contemporary society by the help of people in people.
References
Elias, N., & Dunning, E. (2010). The civilizing process Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing.
Lenski, G. E. (2013). Power and privilege: A theory of social stratification : UNC Press Books
Poland, B. (2006). The social context of smoking: the next frontier in tobacco control?. Tobacco Control , 15 (1), 59-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tc.2004.009886
