Center for Tobacco Policy Research, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, 3545 Lafayette Ave, Suite 300, St Louis, MO 63104, USA.
Tob Control. 2010 Feb;19(1):37-43. doi: 10.1136/tc.2009.032516. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
Tobacco control policies gained ground nationwide in 2006, with voters in nine states approving legislation to strengthen clean indoor air policies and increase tobacco excise taxes. Despite having the second lowest cigarette tax rate in the nation, Missouri was unsuccessful in passing its 2006 ballot initiative to raise the tax. An important way to encourage health-related policy change such as increasing tobacco taxes is through media coverage of tobacco issues. We examined how tobacco issues were presented in Missouri's print media leading up to the 2006 election.
This study analysed 1263 articles with tobacco content published in 187 Missouri newspapers in the year before the election. Articles were coded for general and tobacco-related characteristics including article type (news story, editorial, letter to the editor), tobacco control position (pro, neutral, anti) and article theme (economic, health, political).
Most articles were news stories (73.6%) and pro-tobacco control (63.8%). The proportion of anti-tobacco control articles increased significantly (chi(2)=104.9, p<0.001) the month before the election, driven by an increase in economically themed articles. Economic articles were published more often in counties with less voter support for the tax (F=5.68, p<0.01). Finally, tobacco control position varied significantly across article types (chi(2)=148.3, p<0.01), with letters to the editor being anti-tobacco control most often.
The media have a critical role in promoting public health goals and presenting health issues which influences formation of health policies. Tobacco control advocates must consider public opinion, opposition pressure, timing and themes in tobacco-related media coverage when promoting policy change.
2006 年，全国范围内的控烟政策取得进展，9 个州的选民通过立法，加强室内禁烟政策并提高烟草消费税。尽管密苏里州的香烟税率在全美排名第二低，但在 2006 年提高税收的投票倡议中并未成功。通过媒体报道烟草问题来鼓励与健康相关的政策变化（例如提高烟草税）是很重要的。我们调查了密苏里州的平面媒体在 2006 年选举前如何报道烟草问题。
本研究分析了在选举前一年，密苏里州 187 家报纸上刊登的 1263 篇含有烟草内容的文章。文章按一般特征和与烟草相关的特征进行编码，包括文章类型（新闻报道、社论、读者来信）、烟草控制立场（支持、中立、反对）和文章主题（经济、健康、政治）。
大多数文章是新闻报道（73.6%）和支持烟草控制的文章（63.8%）。在选举前一个月，反对烟草控制的文章比例显著增加（卡方检验=104.9，p<0.001），这主要是由于经济主题文章的增加。经济类文章在选民对税收支持度较低的县发表的频率更高（F=5.68，p<0.01）。最后，文章类型之间的烟草控制立场差异显著（卡方检验=148.3，p<0.01），读者来信通常持反对烟草控制的立场。
媒体在促进公共卫生目标和提出影响卫生政策制定的健康问题方面发挥着关键作用。烟草控制倡导者在推动政策变化时，必须考虑公众意见、反对压力、时机和与烟草相关的媒体报道的主题。
