Cargando…

Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR

The global epidemic of tobacco smoking is expected to impact hardest in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC). There is a lack of understanding regarding the policy environments within which tobacco control policies are being introduced particularly in LMIC. This study aims at exploring key stake...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tomson, Tanja, Akkhavong, Kongsap, Gilljam, Hans
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2630303/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19144186
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1617-9625-5-2
_version_ 1782163847593852928
author Tomson, Tanja
Akkhavong, Kongsap
Gilljam, Hans
author_facet Tomson, Tanja
Akkhavong, Kongsap
Gilljam, Hans
author_sort Tomson, Tanja
collection PubMed
description The global epidemic of tobacco smoking is expected to impact hardest in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC). There is a lack of understanding regarding the policy environments within which tobacco control policies are being introduced particularly in LMIC. This study aims at exploring key stakeholders' beliefs about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR. This is a qualitative case study with a standardised open-ended questionnaire answered by eleven stakeholders in leading positions within different ministries and the media, donors and NGOs. Themes included the perception of tobacco among professionals, awareness of tobacco as a public health issue, importance of inter-sectoral cooperation, and obstacles faced in implementing policies. The research team included both outsiders and an insider. Analysis was done using the case and cross-case analysis. Among the respondents there was consensus regarding the positive impact of a national tobacco policy with the exception of the representative from the Ministry of Agriculture. Stakeholders identified education, awareness creation through media and law enforcement as important interventions, followed by taxation. Education should be diversified in the way it should be delivered. It was emphasized that people in rural areas and minority groups need tailored made approaches. A major limiting factor in moving tobacco control forward in LMIC was stated to be the lack of funding. The refusal by tobacco industry to participate in the study is noteworthy. It is essential to draft a national tobacco policy that can help the government to increase taxes, and create adequate provisions for the enforcement of tobacco laws and regulations.
format Text
id pubmed-2630303
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2009
publisher BioMed Central
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-26303032009-01-24 Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR Tomson, Tanja Akkhavong, Kongsap Gilljam, Hans Tob Induc Dis Research The global epidemic of tobacco smoking is expected to impact hardest in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC). There is a lack of understanding regarding the policy environments within which tobacco control policies are being introduced particularly in LMIC. This study aims at exploring key stakeholders' beliefs about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR. This is a qualitative case study with a standardised open-ended questionnaire answered by eleven stakeholders in leading positions within different ministries and the media, donors and NGOs. Themes included the perception of tobacco among professionals, awareness of tobacco as a public health issue, importance of inter-sectoral cooperation, and obstacles faced in implementing policies. The research team included both outsiders and an insider. Analysis was done using the case and cross-case analysis. Among the respondents there was consensus regarding the positive impact of a national tobacco policy with the exception of the representative from the Ministry of Agriculture. Stakeholders identified education, awareness creation through media and law enforcement as important interventions, followed by taxation. Education should be diversified in the way it should be delivered. It was emphasized that people in rural areas and minority groups need tailored made approaches. A major limiting factor in moving tobacco control forward in LMIC was stated to be the lack of funding. The refusal by tobacco industry to participate in the study is noteworthy. It is essential to draft a national tobacco policy that can help the government to increase taxes, and create adequate provisions for the enforcement of tobacco laws and regulations. BioMed Central 2009-01-14 /pmc/articles/PMC2630303/ /pubmed/19144186 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1617-9625-5-2 Text en Copyright © 2009 Tomson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research
Tomson, Tanja
Akkhavong, Kongsap
Gilljam, Hans
Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR
title Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR
title_full Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR
title_fullStr Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR
title_full_unstemmed Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR
title_short Stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in Lao PDR
title_sort stakeholders' opinions about a tobacco policy in lao pdr
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2630303/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19144186
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1617-9625-5-2
work_keys_str_mv AT tomsontanja stakeholdersopinionsaboutatobaccopolicyinlaopdr
AT akkhavongkongsap stakeholdersopinionsaboutatobaccopolicyinlaopdr
AT gilljamhans stakeholdersopinionsaboutatobaccopolicyinlaopdr