Commercial tobacco endgame themes in the Australian media from 2000 to 2021

Andrew Perusco; Alice Holland; Raglan Maddox; Kylie Morphett; Christina Heris; Coral E Gartner

doi:10.1136/tc-2023-058186

Commercial tobacco endgame themes in the Australian media from 2000 to 2021

Tob Control. 2023 Dec 30:tc-2023-058186. doi: 10.1136/tc-2023-058186. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Andrew Perusco^{1

2}, Alice Holland^{2

3}, Raglan Maddox^{4

2}, Kylie Morphett^{2

5}, Christina Heris^{4

2}, Coral E Gartner^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory, Australia andrew.perusco@anu.edu.au.
² National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Achieving the Tobacco Endgame, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
³ The University of Queensland School of Public Health, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
⁴ National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory, Australia.
⁵ UQ Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 38160056
DOI: 10.1136/tc-2023-058186

Abstract

Background: Conventional tobacco control is dominated by demand-reduction measures, whereas commercial tobacco endgame (endgame) policies address the key drivers that maintain the tobacco epidemic, such as Tobacco Industry interference in policymaking, the addictiveness of commercial tobacco products and their widespread availability via retail outlets. While Australia has been a pioneer in tobacco control, Australian Governments are yet to commit to endgame policies. The media play an important role reflecting and influencing public opinion and policymaker positions, and can help set the agenda for policy innovation.

Method: Media articles mentioning tobacco endgame goals and policies published between 2000 and 2021 were identified by searching Factiva and Google (News). We used reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) to identify themes in the articles, supported by content analysis, to describe elements of the data and sentiment analysis to categorise the article sentiment. A deductive-inductive approach was applied in the RTA, coding text from the articles against predefined codes, while also generating new codes where novel themes were identified. Codes were then grouped and summarised.

Results: One hundred and ninety-three articles were included for analysis. The media discourse focused on three policies: tobacco-free generation; banning or phasing out retail supply of tobacco; and mandating a very low nicotine content standard for cigarettes. A broad range of themes in the articles supported endgame policies, including the large health toll from tobacco, government responsibility to act and the total social costs far outweighing any economic benefit from the tobacco market. Opposing themes included the purported failures of 'prohibition', illicit trade, 'nanny statism' and impact on retail trade. Equity themes were scarce. The benefits of a smoke-free society were described at a societal level, rather than the personal benefits for individuals.

Conclusion: Media articles on the tobacco endgame in Australia generally contained positive sentiment about endgame policies. When engaging with the media, endgame advocates should be aware of, and ready to counter, opposing themes such as the purported failures of 'prohibition', 'nanny state' rhetoric or a growth in illicit tobacco trade.

Keywords: disparities; end game; media; public policy.