Faculty of Health, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
Health Promot Int. 2024 Dec 1;39(6). doi: 10.1093/heapro/daae178.
Cigarettes, alcohol, vaping and gambling products can cause significant harm to children and young people. The industries that make these products employ a range of tactics that aim to normalize their products and resist policy and regulatory reform. This includes 'responsibility' framing, in which parents are often held responsible for educating their children about the risks of these products. However, there has been very little research, which has investigated parents' perceptions of these industries. A qualitatively led online panel survey was conducted with n = 455 Australian parents who had at least one child aged between 11 and 17 years. Participants were asked questions relating to concerns about harmful products; what they talked about with their children; other potential sources of risk information; and who were responsible for protecting young people from these industries. Four themes were constructed. (i) Parents identified that parental influence, peer pressure, social media and advertising influenced children's attitudes towards these products. (ii) They had concerns about the short- and long-term consequences of these products. (iii) Parents actively engaged in educating their children about these products but recognized that it was difficult to counter industry messages. (iv) Parents emphasized the need for a collective approach, advocating for increased information and government regulations, particularly relating to marketing. This study demonstrates that parents are concerned about these industries and do their best to protect their children from harm but recognize that they need more support. Evidence-based education and comprehensive regulations particularly around marketing are needed to de-normalize products and protect young people.
香烟、酒精、电子烟和赌博产品会对儿童和青少年造成严重危害。生产这些产品的行业采用了一系列策略，旨在使这些产品正常化，并抵制政策和监管改革。其中包括“责任”框架，即父母往往被认为有责任教育孩子这些产品的风险。然而，几乎没有研究调查过父母对这些行业的看法。本研究采用定性引导的在线小组调查，调查了 n = 455 名澳大利亚父母，他们的孩子年龄在 11 至 17 岁之间。参与者被问及与以下问题有关的担忧：有害产品；他们与孩子谈论了什么；其他潜在的风险信息来源；以及谁负责保护年轻人免受这些行业的侵害。本研究构建了四个主题。(i) 父母认为，父母的影响、同龄人的压力、社交媒体和广告会影响孩子对这些产品的态度。(ii) 他们对这些产品的短期和长期后果表示担忧。(iii) 父母积极地教育孩子这些产品，但认识到很难抵制行业信息。(iv) 父母强调需要采取集体的方法，倡导增加信息和政府法规，特别是与营销有关的法规。这项研究表明，父母对这些行业表示担忧，并尽最大努力保护孩子免受伤害，但他们也认识到自己需要更多的支持。需要基于证据的教育和全面的监管，特别是在营销方面，以使产品正常化并保护年轻人。
