Journalists across Africa have been urged to make greater use of data and evidence in reporting on tobacco control, particularly in exposing industry marketing strategies, countering misinformation and informing the public about the risks associated with tobacco and nicotine products.
The call was made during a two-day virtual workshop on “The Role of the Media in Tobacco Control,” organised under the Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI), a programme aimed at improving access to country-specific tobacco control data for governments, civil society organisations and researchers.
The workshop brought together media practitioners from Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa and Ethiopia, with a focus on strengthening their ability to use the TCDI Dashboard to find, interpret and apply data on tobacco in their reporting.
The Lead Facilitator, Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), explained that the training aimed to increase awareness and understanding of the TCDI Dashboard, its purpose, scope, and features among media practitioners across the focus countries.
Jakpor buttressed that the training will help to “strengthen capacity for evidence-informed storytelling, enabling journalists to produce accurate, compelling, and policy-relevant tobacco control stories using dashboard data.”
While analysing the changing context of tobacco control reporting over the years, Jakpor explained that the tobacco industry was audacious with their reporting and media professionals need to work with data but hardly know where to get them.
“Decades ago, the tobacco industry was audacious with adverts that targeted different groups, including women. We relied on what came from WHO, and the concept of Industry monitoring was at its infancy.”
He also highlighted the tobacco industry’s communication strategies, including what he described as greenwashing, where companies promote environmental sustainability initiatives while potentially diverting attention from the broader negative impacts of their products.
The RDI head also noted the changing landscape of tobacco and nicotine products and the need for journalists to look beyond traditional cigarette advertising when investigating how companies attract and retain consumers.
Also speaking during the training, Rachel Kitonyo-Devotsu, Senior Tobacco Control Advisor with TCDI in Kenya, highlighted the importance of data in strengthening tobacco control reporting.
Kitonyo-Devotsu explained that data can help journalists educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use and support prevention and cessation efforts.
She added that “data can also provide evidence for policies, help explain the rationale and public benefits of tobacco-control measures, and educate the public on measures needed to improve compliance.”
According to her, data also gives journalists an important tool for examining tobacco industry marketing and interference tactics and for countering misinformation and disinformation.
Earlier in her opening remark, Drusilla David, Senior Communications Advisor at TCDI, said that the training was organised by the Centre for the Study of the Economy of Africa (CSEA) to equip journalists in the five countries on the use of the dashboard to enrich their tobacco reports.
According to her, “for all the countries hosting the dashboard, the issues that require reportage are similar but the contexts are different, hence the need to bring the media up to speed on how to navigate the platform.”
Thomas Van Huyssteen, South Africa Country Lead, TCDI facilitated the presentation of the TCDI dashboard, to aquint journalists with the platform and enable them understand how to utilise different datasets available on the dashboard.
The two-day training is also expected to expand the visibility and use of the TCDI Dashboard as a reference tool for journalists and media organisations reporting on tobacco control.
The Tobacco Control Data Initiative is being implemented by the Centre for the Study of the Economy of Africa (CSEA) and Development Gateway (DG), in collaboration with the International Institute for Legislative Affairs (IILA) in Kenya, the Centre for Trade and Policy Development (CTPD) in Zambia, and the Health, Development and Anti-malaria Association (HDAMA) in Ethiopia, among other partners.