The doxa of smoking and implications for lung cancer patients: from natural and glamorous to self-inflicted and impure

This paper explores the stigma associated with smoking and lung cancer patients by examining the doxical notions on which it rests and its implications for healthcare settings. Through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of doxa, we analyse how historical advertising and anti-smoking campaigns have reshaped the image of smoking – from glamorous to self-inflicted and filthy – reinforcing a ‘stacked stigma’ characterised by impurity, self-blame, and low prestige in the healthcare sector. Lung cancer patients do not align with the healthcare sector’s ideal image of a patient who maintains a healthy body, leading to moral judgment and self-blame. This ‘stacked stigma’ also affects lung cancer patients by making them ‘guilty by association’, further complicating their interactions with healthcare professionals.