Purposeful play: exploring a bar-based, anti-tobacco intervention for young adults

Social smoking is increasingly prevalent among young Americans and often takes place in nightlife social settings. Yet, few smoking interventions are embedded in these settings. This paper focuses on space, embodiment, and practice to explore young adults’ experiences of COMMUNE, a bar-based anti-tobacco intervention for ‘Hipster’ young adults; a group with shared aesthetics and interests, and high smoking rates. We conducted in-depth interviews (n = 21) with young adults involved with COMMUNE (event organizers, artists/brand ambassadors, event attendees) and observed two COMMUNE events. We analyzed the data thematically and identified three prominent affective registers: (1) ‘Fun and flow’—Messaging did not disrupt essential elements of nightlife assemblages; (2) ‘Openness and receptivity’—Playful bar settings encouraged openness and receptivity, allowing event attendees to learn about COMMUNE without feeling taught or patronized; and (3) ‘Belonging and purpose’—Events focused on an external adversary (Big Tobacco) rather than individual smoking behavior and offered a role in supporting community. This anti-tobacco intervention leveraged the capacity-enhancing elements of nightlife settings where social smoking often takes place and emphasized access to a desired experience rather than the loss of smoking. More playful, capacity-enhancing approaches can engage with smoking and other health-related behaviors.Highlights Young adult social smoking is often practiced in nightlife settings Few smoking interventions are embedded in nightlife settings We explored young adults’ experiences of a bar-based, anti-tobacco intervention Fun, flow, openness, receptivity, belonging, and purpose were prominent Smoking interventions can offer playful, capacity-enhancing experiences.