Turning the Tide on Tobacco and Industry’s Product Innovation Gambit
Tobacco use remains one of the leading causes of preventable deaths worldwide, and South Africa is no exception. Despite progress made, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) still faces a growing tobacco epidemic, fuelled by aggressive marketing from the tobacco industry, weak regulatory frameworks, and socio-economic factors that make populations and states particularly vulnerable.
One of the key challenges in tobacco control is the influence of the tobacco industry, which continuously finds ways to circumvent regulations and target vulnerable populations. From deceptive advertising to lobbying against public health measures, the industry’s tactics undermine efforts to reduce tobacco use and its associated harms further.
The tobacco industry’s playbook has been used by other ‘health-harming industries’ such as the food and beverage industry. These developments have brought into focus the need to address commercial determinants of health when developing sustainable solutions to preventing the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases that threaten health systems’ resilience.
This inaugural address will present an overview of research influencing tobacco control policy in South Africa and beyond. The address will highlight the role of transdisciplinary research and international collaboration for capacity-building in strengthening evidence for action in SSA.
It will further highlight the importance of community engagements for research translation, especially in countering tobacco industry interference with the policy process, which has recently become more complex with the industry’s promotion of the supposedly innovative tobacco and nicotine products for harm reduction. The address will conclude with perspectives on future research to support the ‘endgame’ strategy for a tobacco-free SSA.
Date: 27 February 2025
Time: 17:30
Venue: Senate Hall, Hatfield Campus, University of Pretoria / livestream, Johannesburg
Contact: Samantha Hodgson
Email address az.ca.pu@nosgdoh.ahtnamas
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