Scoping review of international public education and media campaigns aimed at reducing demand for, raising awareness of and discouraging the purchase or sale of illicit tobacco and/or vaping products.

Abstract

Objective: This scoping review aims to identify public education or mass media campaigns aimed at discouraging purchasing or selling illicitly traded tobacco and/or vaping products and to summarise the characteristics of the campaigns.

Method: We searched six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and CINAHL) for peer-reviewed articles and conducted targeted Google searches to identify relevant campaigns implemented in English-speaking countries. Eligible campaigns aimed to lower demand for, raise public awareness of and/or deter purchasing or selling of illicit tobacco/vaping products.

Results: We identified 28 campaigns; of these, 15 were funded and distributed by government/health charity organisations, nine by tobacco companies, three by Crime Stoppers chapters and one by a consumer lobby group. 24 focused on illicit tobacco products (12 government/health charity), three on tobacco and vaping products (all government/health charity) and one on vaping products only (lobby group funded). Most government/health charity (n=10) and industry-funded (n=6) campaigns highlighted the association of illicit products with organised crime. Industry-funded campaigns featured messaging on lost tax revenue (n=5) and damages to legitimate businesses (n=5). The Keep IT Out campaign from England was the only campaign evaluated for effectiveness and resulted in increased public awareness and hotline reports.

Discussion: Our findings highlight the critical need for future research to identify effective campaign messages, especially those that avoid unintentionally reinforcing the use of illicit tobacco/vape products, increasing awareness of where or how to access these products, implying that taxed products are safer or legitimising the tobacco industry and its retail channels.