New Study says e-cigarettes may lead to cancer and heart disease

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Although there are not too many instances of the word denormalise being used in Hansard, and many of them are well after the ban, there are some from before the ban, including several from the Scottish parliament.

The Scottish Parliament - Finance Committee Report

Smoke-free legislation will clearly support current smokers attempting to quit, and denormalise smoking in society, so that future generations do not get addicted to smoking.

UKPHA written evidence:

House of Commons - Health - Written Evidence

Similarly, we would like to see a commitment to a tobacco control and prevention programme of the kind developed in California which aims to denormalise the acceptability of tobacco use in communities through a comprehensive programme of measures and education which includes revealing and countering the influence of the tobacco industry. We note the initiative in the North East of England to establish a Tobacco Control Office which draws on the Californian experience.

Conclusion: not headline grabbing or centre-stage but clearly part of the agenda at the time.

An example of a more recent use of the term:

Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 - Hansard Online

I wish to make a small number of important points which have been raised by noble Lords. First, we have fought long and hard to denormalise smoking behaviours, and Members of this House have been at the forefront of that. It is right to take a precautionary approach to managing any risk that e-cigarettes renormalise smoking behaviours, particularly by restricting children’s exposure to e-cigarette marketing and imagery.

 

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Can find even more stuff if we look at the issue from the opposite side - the tobacco industry.

By 1984, a Philip Morris official named the changing face of smoking as his industry’s major concern: “… the single most important issue facing our industry is the erosion of the social acceptability of smoking … Today it is probably true to state that even a majority of smokers feel that theirs is an undesirable habit”.4 The tobacco industry has long recognised the power of smoking restrictions to denormalise smoking and reduce consumption.5 Industry plans to thwart smoke-free policy reform stress that “the final objective is to make or keep smoking socially acceptable”.6

There is a lot more of relevance in that document but I wont quote it all. They are using Australia as an example because their workplace smoking ban and some other measures started several decades before ours.

After health concerns, the social unacceptability of smoking is nominated by most ex-smokers as their main motivation for quitting.20 Denormalising smoking is also associated with protecting others from second-hand smoke. Among factors that positively predicted having a smoke-free home was “believing smoke free was normative” (high acceptance of denormalising beliefs about smoking).21

Markers of the denormalisation of smoking and the tobacco industry