Anti-tobacco Groups Research Articles

E-cigarette flavour enhancers: Flavoured pod attachments compatible with JUUL and other pod-based devices

JUUL labs transformed the electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) market when they introduced their innovative nicotine salt e-cigarette device in 2015.1 The sleek pod device quickly became the most commonly used tobacco...

English

The tobacco companies continue to resist the adoption of tobacco control laws in developing countries in spite of the predicted high risk of a tobacco epidemic in those areas. In contrast to previous studies which focused on the developed and middle income countries and concluded that interest groups impact policy making, this study examines the strategy of anti-tobacco interest groups to promote the regulation of tobacco smoke in Malawi using data collected through interviews of experts and review of existing materials on tobacco control. The study finds that the anti-tobacco groups are resorting to litigation to compel their government to enforce environmental provisions stipulated in the Constitution and other legal documents as means of regulating tobacco smoke. Finally, it concludes that litigation for the implementation of legal provisions to protect public health might be the strategy used by interest groups to regulate substances detrimental to public health in developing countries.   Key words: Tobacco smoke, Malawi, constitutional provisions, interest groups, policy adoption, litigation, tobacco control.

Tobacco regulation in South Africa: Interest groups and public policy

The article examines the role of interest groups in the adoption of comprehensive tobacco control policies in South Africa. While various studies have noted that interest groups shape and influence public policies especially in advanced industrialized polities, this study looks at the impact of tobacco control groups in regulating tobacco use in a developing, middle-income country, South Africa. Using interviews of leading experts on tobacco control from South Africa and tobacco control policy documents, the study finds that since the last decade or so, the lobbying and campaigns of anti-tobacco interest groups have led to the adoption of more restrictive policies. Key words: Tobacco control, interest groups, anti-tobacco groups, South Africa.

Tobacco-Prevention Messages Online: Social Marketing via the Web

Antitobacco groups have joined millions of other commercial or noncommercial entities in developing a presence on the Web. These groups primarily represent the following different sponsorship categories: grassroots, medical, government, and corporate. To obtain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the message design of antitobacco Web sites, this project analyzed 100 antitobacco Web sites ranging across these four sponsorship categories. The results show that the tobacco industry sites posted just enough antismoking information to appease the antismoking publics. Medical organizations designed their Web sites as specialty sites and offered mostly scientific information. While the government sites resembled a clearinghouse for antitobacco related information, the grassroots sites represented the true advocacy outlets. In general, the industry sites provided the weakest persuasive messages and medical sites fared only slightly better. Government and grassroots sites rated most highly in presenting their antitobacco campaign messages on the Web.

Government Leadership and Coalition Efforts against Transnational Tobacco Corporations in Asia: A Supplementary Proposal

This paper examines the current tobacco situation in Asia, focusing on the strategies of transnational tobacco corporations in the Asian tobacco market and on the role of government leadership. An approach is suggested that centers on regional coalitional efforts among the countries in Asia in cooperation with anti-tobacco groups in the US. We argue the current tobacco crisis of Asia cannot be unraveled by domestic policy alone. There needs to be clear government leadership and strong commitment to tobacco control including organized support for tobacco research and public education. In addition, it must be supplemented by the efforts of regional and international coalitions to be more effective. Tobacco control policy at the national level would be far more successful if government leaders and private organizations use their resources to change the public sentiment on smoking and thereby reduce tobacco use and its accompanying social and economic costs.