TY - JOUR
T1 - Tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship in Arabic media between 2017 and 2019
AU - Monshi, Sarah S.
AU - Collins, Bradley N.
AU - Wu, Jingwei
AU - Alzahrani, Mona Ahmed J.
AU - Ibrahim, Jennifer K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s).
PY - 2022/10/1
Y1 - 2022/10/1
N2 - Nineteen out of 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, have ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty. One of FCTC's provisions prohibits tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS). The TAPS provision requires nations to ban direct and indirect tobacco ads in media, as exposure to tobacco use in the media encourages smoking initiation. A limited number of studies have examined TAPS in Arabic media. This study examined the occurrence of tobacco use across Arabic television (TV) series released between January 2017 and December 2019 to assess compliance with the FCTC provision banning TAPS. The content analysis examined incidents of tobacco use in Arabic TV series, types of tobacco products used and the portrayal of second-hand smoking exposure. Out of 92 Arabic TV series (2952 episodes), there were 32 044 incidents of tobacco use. Incidents of tobacco use per episode fluctuated over time. During Ramadan, the median number of tobacco incidents declined from 6 in 2017 to 3 in 2019; however, it increased to 8 in 2018. Regular cigarettes and water pipes were the most common tobacco products used in TV series. While 27% of tobacco use showed characters who smoked tobacco products alone, 13% of the incidents portrayed characters who were smoking in the presence of children. This study concludes that tobacco imagery is not completely banned in Arabic media and its continued representation weakens tobacco control measures.
AB - Nineteen out of 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, have ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty. One of FCTC's provisions prohibits tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS). The TAPS provision requires nations to ban direct and indirect tobacco ads in media, as exposure to tobacco use in the media encourages smoking initiation. A limited number of studies have examined TAPS in Arabic media. This study examined the occurrence of tobacco use across Arabic television (TV) series released between January 2017 and December 2019 to assess compliance with the FCTC provision banning TAPS. The content analysis examined incidents of tobacco use in Arabic TV series, types of tobacco products used and the portrayal of second-hand smoking exposure. Out of 92 Arabic TV series (2952 episodes), there were 32 044 incidents of tobacco use. Incidents of tobacco use per episode fluctuated over time. During Ramadan, the median number of tobacco incidents declined from 6 in 2017 to 3 in 2019; however, it increased to 8 in 2018. Regular cigarettes and water pipes were the most common tobacco products used in TV series. While 27% of tobacco use showed characters who smoked tobacco products alone, 13% of the incidents portrayed characters who were smoking in the presence of children. This study concludes that tobacco imagery is not completely banned in Arabic media and its continued representation weakens tobacco control measures.
KW - Arab countries
KW - Tobacco imagery
KW - tobacco control
KW - tobacco smoking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138448719&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=purepublist2023&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:000806712800001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS
U2 - 10.1093/heapol/czac039
DO - 10.1093/heapol/czac039
M3 - Article
C2 - 35668650
SN - 0268-1080
VL - 37
SP - 990
EP - 999
JO - Health Policy and Planning
JF - Health Policy and Planning
IS - 8
ER -