Assessing online news coverage and commentary following a celebrity smoking confession: An opportunity for Australian tobacco control

Abstract

In February 2013 a news story broke regarding Australian celebrity Chrissie Swan who admitted smoking during pregnancy. The story generated extensive coverage and discussion including a large volume of online news stories and reader comments. Celebrity health disclosures create mass public interest and engagement and offer opportunities for public health interventions. In Australia, a substantial minority of women continue to smoke during pregnancy despite social marketing activities, including mass media campaigns, and the prioritising of the issue on Australia’s tobacco control agenda. The issue is highly emotive arousing strong personal reactions by the women themselves, their families, friends, and other community members. These reactions tend to reinforce negative societal attitudes and hinder help-seeking actions by pregnant women who smoke. News coverage of celebrity health disclosures tends to be short-lived and lack important health information. An immediate public health response to unplanned news stories such as celebrity health disclosures, that delivers sound health information and effective health messages, is important to realise the potential of these opportunities. This appears to be particularly important for the highly emotive issue of smoking and pregnancy. This thesis examines the extent and nature of the online news coverage of, and readers’ responses to, Chrissie Swan’s admission of smoking while she was pregnant. The degree that public health information was included in the story is also examined. Key contextual issues relating to smoking and pregnancy, celebrity health disclosures, and the use of new media in tobacco control are also discussed. Recommendations for improving tobacco control’s online response to relevant breaking news stories are provided.