Artificial mist: possible insights into the entry of electronic cigarettes into the smoking device

Abstract

Smoking becoming a public health problem in recent decades dialogues with important contemporary notions in biomedicine and collective health, such as preventive medicine, debates on the meanings and risky practices, and even the theme of aversion as a health communication strategy, its scope and limitations. Such questions dialogue with an important topic in Health Anthropology: the distances and clashes between what is recommended by biomedicine as therapeutic itineraries for smoking treatment and the practices and expectations of smokers who intend to quit smoking. In parallel, electronic cigarettes have recently expanded their presence in Brazil, following a seemingly global trend. Research estimates that almost 20% of youth use or have used the device, whereas the use of regular cigarettes seems to decrease every year. This article discusses, based on a bibliographic and documentary review, as well as elements produced from fieldwork, the entry of so-called electronic cigarettes into what we call the smoking device.