Exploring electronic cigarette portrayals: a content and thematic analysis of African online news coverage

Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy

Research

Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi¹  Chimwemwe Ngoma² 

[1] Global Health Focus, Ibadan, Nigeria;Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme, Knowledge•Action•Change, London, UK;Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi;

关键词: Portrayals;    e-cigarettes;    Electronic cigarettes;    News;    Content analysis;    Thematic analysis;    Vaping;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13011-023-00559-6

 received in 2023-06-07, accepted in 2023-08-14,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundElectronic cigarette use has surged internationally in recent years, with numerous countries noting an uptick in users. Despite this, the portrayal of e-cigarette usage in African news remains unclear.MethodsThis research investigates the subject, employing a mixed-methodology approach. The study units were news articles on electronic cigarette use retrieved from AllAfrica, an online African news archive. A total of 38 online news and opinion articles published between June 2017 and June 2022 qualified the exclusion and inclusion criteria. A content analysis revealed prevalent codes and themes, while a thematic analysis explored the association between news sources and framing.ResultsThe results indicate that articles and arguments presenting e-cigarettes positively outnumber those with a negative slant. The health impacts of electronic cigarettes emerged as the most discussed topic, with health authorities frequently cited as news sources. However, these health authorities often lacked a unified stance on e-cigarette safety.ConclusionThe lack of consensus among health officials could have public health consequences, possibly resulting in the formulation of uninformed policies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023