Earlier research from Western countries has indicated that individuals with low socioeconomic status(SES) initiate tobacco smoking even though smoking is a stigmatized practice. We propose thattheoretical developments of Bourdieu’s theories on capital can reveal a plausible mechanism thatexplains smoking motivation in the face of stigmatization, and we perform a double-blind randomizedcontrolled experiment with the impressions of a smoking adolescent girl to test and elaborate on ourproposition. The empirical data was collected through questionnaires distributed to 622 Swedishadolescents during the fall of 2015. Half the questionnaires included a picture of a smoking girl and halfthe questionnaires included an identical picture without the act of smoking. Binary logistic regressionsindicate that the girl in the picture was perceived as significantly less likable, more popular, less kind,less compassionate, more deceitful, more conceited, and more liable to bully when she smoked a cigarettethan when she did not smoke. The theoretical analysis implies that adolescents with low SES may seekto smoke in the face of stigmatization because of a motivating mechanism that functions in accordancewith Bourdieu’s economic logic of action. The concluding section presents implications for tobaccocontrolpolicies.