ABSTRACT
The effects of smoking on health are well-established, and the gendered patterns of smoking are linked to both age and socioeconomic status. However, much of the research that explores the smoking and health beliefs of people at different stages of the life course only provide snapshots at different time points, and there are relatively few studies that explore how people’s smoking patterns and health concerns change over time. Some studies have explored couple and household dynamics in addition to individual perspectives, yet few have explored the wider relational aspects of smoking. These relational aspects include how people learn to smoke from others, and this not only influences how they ‘do’ smoking but also how they think about smoking. In this way, relationships influence smokers’ health beliefs, health experiences and smoking practices. Drawing on wider studies and using data from four UK studies taking a biographical narrative approach, this chapter explores how women’s smoking and health beliefs change over their life course and relation to others.
