Waterpipe tobacco and public health: a content analysis of media discourse on waterpipe tobacco smoking across Africa.

IF 4 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Tobacco Control Pub Date : 2025-05-22 DOI:10.1136/tc-2024-059247

Olufemi A Erinoso, Munachimso Emesobum, Sara Perez, Caroline Fuss, Ernesto Marcelo Sebrié, Eric Crosbie

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Despite its known health risks, the tobacco epidemic is evolving as waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) in Africa increases. This study explores media coverage of WTS in Africa to identify key themes, misinformation and opportunities for public health education.

Methods: Between October and December 2023, we analysed media articles using Tobacco Watcher, an online surveillance portal that compiles news from over 595 000 web sources. We searched for English-language articles published in Africa that discussed WTS between 2012 and 2023 with Boolean terms (ie, 'shisha OR hookah OR waterpipe OR narghile AND Africa'). Themes identified include WTS regulations, health risks, venues, youth uptake, misconceptions/myths and tobacco industry perspectives.

Results: We found 137 eligible articles from 15 of the 54 African countries. Most articles came from Kenya (n=39), Nigeria (n=21) and Egypt (n=17). 92 (67.1%) discussed the health risks of WTS, 37 (27.0%) referenced youth uptake and 6 (4.4%) discussed tobacco industry views about WTS. Over two-thirds (n=97, 70.8%) of articles discussed proposed or implemented WTS bans, with most from Kenya (n=34). Additionally, 27 (19.7%) discussed misconceptions/myths related to WTS, of which Nigeria (n=7) and Ghana (n=5) had the highest proportion.

Conclusion: Findings reveal widespread concern about health risks and strong interest in the regulation of WTS in the media. A significant portion of articles discussed misconceptions about WTS, highlighting the need for targeted education campaigns to dispel myths and protect public health.

查看原文本刊更多论文

水烟与公共卫生：非洲各地关于水烟吸烟的媒体话语内容分析。

导言：尽管已知存在健康风险，但随着非洲水烟吸烟（WTS）的增加，烟草流行正在演变。本研究探讨了非洲WTS的媒体报道，以确定公共卫生教育的关键主题、错误信息和机会。方法：在2023年10月至12月期间，我们使用烟草观察者（Tobacco watchers）分析了媒体文章，烟草观察者是一个在线监测门户网站，汇集了来自超过59.5万个网络来源的新闻。我们搜索了2012年至2023年期间在非洲发表的用布尔术语（即“水烟、水烟、水管或narghile and Africa”）讨论WTS的英文文章。确定的主题包括WTS条例、健康风险、场所、青年吸收、误解/神话和烟草业观点。结果：我们从54个非洲国家中的15个国家中找到137篇符合条件的文章。大多数文献来自肯尼亚（n=39）、尼日利亚（n=21）和埃及（n=17）。92人（67.1%）讨论了WTS的健康风险，37人（27.0%）提到了青少年吸食，6人（4.4%）讨论了烟草业对WTS的看法。超过三分之二（n= 97,70.8%）的文章讨论了建议或实施WTS禁令，其中大多数来自肯尼亚（n=34）。此外，27个国家（19.7%）讨论了与WTS相关的误解/神话，其中尼日利亚（n=7）和加纳（n=5）的比例最高。结论：研究结果揭示了媒体对健康风险的广泛关注和对WTS监管的强烈兴趣。文章的很大一部分讨论了对WTS的误解，强调有必要开展有针对性的教育运动，以消除误解和保护公众健康。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Tobacco Control 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

26.90%

发文量

223

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Tobacco Control is an international peer-reviewed journal covering the nature and consequences of tobacco use worldwide; tobacco''s effects on population health, the economy, the environment, and society; efforts to prevent and control the global tobacco epidemic through population-level education and policy changes; the ethical dimensions of tobacco control policies; and the activities of the tobacco industry and its allies.