“Hughes makes an excellent effort simultaneously to fill an embarrassing gap in the sociological literature regarding tobacco use and to demonstrate that tobacco use cannot be adequately addressed solely from a clinical perspective.”
— Brian M. Lowe, Contemporary Sociology
“Learning to Smoke makes very original arguments about the use of tobacco in Western societies. Mindful of major sociological theories and nicely supported by a wealth of historical documentation, this study will find an enthusiastic audience among both specialists and anyone interested in the smoking problem.”— Howard Becker, author of Outsiders
“Learning to Smoke explores the smoking problem in a way that sets it apart from other sociological works about addiction. Looking at the experience of smoking in a variety of different historical and cultural contexts, Hughes lays out the long term development of tobacco use in the West to show how its once common reputation as a panacea gave way to its current standing as pandemic.”
— Joseph Gusfield, author of The Culture of Public Problems