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Introduction: In spite of being aware of the risks of smoking, many adolescents are smoking. This conflict between knowledge and practice was examined with the intention of understanding the subjective meaning of smoking among adolescents at a Danish high school. Materials and methods: Qualitative interviews about everyday life were conducted among six tenth-grade girls. The interpretation was rooted in Critical Psychology. Results: Smoking was an important strategy in the students' efforts to participate in the school's social life. As time passed, the smoking became a routine but continued to be important for the development of the group dynamics. The students were well informed about the health risks associated with smoking and worried about their dependence on the habit. This did not, however, stop them from smoking. Their concept of health was an outcrop of the concepts on which mainstream health education is based. In their view, a healthy life is a social, active life filled with joy and amusement; hence smoking had become part of their effort to live what they saw as a healthy life. Discussion: Health research needs to consider which specific predicaments and priorities adolescents face in their daily lives. This will not be possible if health interventions are based on generic aspects disconnected from the specific conditions present in everyday life. Thus, one must focus on the specific ways in which adolescents participate in social life and the particular conditions that exist for participating in the social life of their specific educational institutions.

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