Strengthening positive attitudes and behaviour around not smoking ‘A Social Norms Approach’
Presenter(s)
Scott Crosby Regional Social Marketing Manager, Smokefree Yorkshire and Humber
Diane Bell Communications Manager, Department Of Health
Abstract
“We will encourage local authorities to examine what role they can play in helping to change social norms around smoking, especially using behavioural insights”. Tobacco Control Action Plan 2011
The parallel workshop will provide an overview of the evidence for a social norms approach to behaviour change been used internationally and in the UK to move behaviours on a range of issues and then go on to detail emerging plans to apply this approach to one of the countries most pressing public health issues: smoking.
Key issues to be addressed within the presentation include the challenge of identifying peer groups within communities, methods for gathering credible data, creating social norm messages, how to disseminate them and the implications for smoking cessation.
• sustains the motivation of ex-smokers to stay stopped
• encourages young people not to start smoking
• protects non-smokers, especially children, from the harm caused by passive smoke
Robust evidence over the past 50 years has identified two categories of effective interventions:
 Changing individual behaviour e.g. cessation services.
 Changing the environment around both smokers and non-smokers e.g. influencing social norms so that tobacco use is less acceptable, less desirable and less accessible
Strengthening social norms has been found to have a powerful influence on individual behaviour. Social norms is an environmental approach aimed at not just the individual but the entire community context in which individuals live. It is a highly cost effective way of reaching large numbers of people, correcting misperceptions of the prevalence of a problem behaviour (e.g. smoking), and promoting the healthier ones instead, e.g. being smokefree.
The social norm theory states that much of people’s behaviour is influenced by their perception of how other members of their social group behave and their tendency to over-estimate the level of 'bad' behaviours. If people think harmful behaviour is the norm, e.g. everyone smokes; they are as individuals more likely themselves to engage in that behaviour. By educating a community that in fact the usual practice among their peers is the healthy version, e.g. 3 out of 4 people do not smoke, the behaviour of all can be affected in a positive manner.
Source of funding: Yorkshire & Humber Directors of Public health Network & Stratigic Health Authority funding.
