Contemporary Social Science

Applying the tools of social science to address the tobacco and nicotine epidemic

The World Health Organization reports that Tobacco use globally contributes more than 8 millions deaths annually, and that 80% of the the world’s 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.  In the majority of countries, these tobacco products are made  by a small number of profit seeking transnational tobacco companies. Recent years have  witnessed considerable product innovation with the launch of an increasing number of products containing nicotine - the addictive chemical in tobacco - such as  e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, enabling tobacco companies to continue selling addictive products despite tobacco control regulations becoming more commonplace in many countries.

This special issue seeks to explore the opportunities and challenges for addressing the global tobacco and nicotine epidemics. We invite submissions that apply the tools of social science to offer insights on the following indicative themes at a local, national, regional and/or global level:

• Industry actions to sustain the tobacco and/or nicotine epidemic;
• Tobacco and/or nicotine industry strategies to influence policy outcomes;
• Industry business practices that have an impact on health outcomes;
• Industry revenue sources and profit generation, and the reporting therein;
• Evidence of industry engagement in tax avoidance and evasion;
• The implications of perceived ‘market failure’ and measure commonly deployed to correct such failures;
• Analysis of existing or potential policy measures designed to address the tobacco and/or nicotine epidemic;
• How innovative research tools such as AI can be utilised to better understand the nicotine and/or tobacco market and related actors;
• The market for illicit tobacco and/or nicotine products, including the size and/or nature of the market, contributing factors, and potential policy solutions;
• Socioeconomic use pattern differences;
• Tobacco and/or nicotine product marketing and promotion activities, including responses to any related regulatory constraints;
• Analysis of public and/or private-facing tobacco and/or nicotine industry communications relating to their products and the associated health implications;
• Comparisons of tobacco and/or nicotine industry produced research with independent data;
• How to address the conflicts of interest relating to the tobacco and/or nicotine industry within policy and/or research spaces;
• The social and environmental impacts of tobacco production and consumption;
• Trends in tobacco and/or nicotine industry supply chains globally.

Please note we are keen to receive submissions that cross and transcend disciplinary boundaries to address issues around any aspects of the tobacco, nicotine, and related markets, including their wider supply chains worldwide. As such, the above list should not be thought of as being exhaustive but merely indicative areas for consideration.