Challenging the imperative of health? Smoking and justifications of risk-taking

It has been argued that with the decline in the prevalence of smoking, a number of the remaining smokers have become more resilient to health-promotion efforts. In this article, the justifications of smoking in web discussions are analysed, concentrating on perceptions of risk. While previous research concerning lay knowledge has brought out ambivalent meanings of the concept, smoking as a well-known health risk provides an excellent example for studying counter-reactions to current health discourses. Analysis shows the similarities between justifications of smoking and current health ideologies: argumentation stressed personal responsibility and self-management. However, following rules and health recommendations was juxtaposed with ideals of the autonomous, competent individual. While argumentation reflected the basic principles of the imperative of health, a challenging feature emerged through the accounts that disregarded risk. It is suggested that disregard of risks represents a real challenge for the imperative of health by ignoring the notions of autonomy and competence.