[Young people's perceptions of tobacco-related cancer]

An anthropological study was conducted on the island of Reunion between March and September 2004 within the framework of a project called "The non-smoking generation" carried out by the Regional Committee for Health Education. The primary objective was to provide field workers with a basis for reflection which they could incorporate into their tobacco prevention activities aimed at young people. The perceptions of youth on tobacco-use related cancer were explored using a sample population group of 37 young people aged between 14 and 25 years old (girls and boys, smokers and non-smokers, those who attend school and those who don't) from across the island. Interviews were conducted using an anthropological analysis grid and completed through observational sessions in their homes, schools and neighborhoods. The results, set within the context of time and the places where tobacco is consumed, demonstrate that their relationship to cigarettes symbolises some of the inherent characteristics of adolescence, namely, the difficulty in finding and establishing one's own limits, in integrating oneself into society and in envisioning one's potential future. An interesting observation was also made regarding their views on the one hand of a paradoxical approach relating the development of cancer and tobacco consumption behaviour, and the real, concrete physical and psychological impact of the disease on the other. The young people often expressed a certain fatality and a feeling of control ("I can quit whenever I want to!"). The team also found within their remarks a sense of being unfortunate as opposed to that of being in control, coupled with fear as opposed to feeling invincible ("cancer only happens to other people"). Finally, the study has allowed for reflections on youth tobacco prevention interventions to be nurtured with respect to how individual young people position the consequences of tobacco use and smoking, mainly with regard to their own personal responsibility.