Health communication and rhetorical challenges for the anti-smoking policy in Russia

Abstract

Smoking regulation constitutes a challenging issue for both developed and developing countries that aim to improve their state of public health and constituent wellbeing. Anti-smoking information and communication campaigns accompanying regulation acts can either enhance or sabotage national policy initiatives. This is especially salient in countries like Russia, where smoking is one of the top public health threats and causes of population decline. As such, critical analysis of the message effectiveness of Russia's anti-smoking campaign is warranted. This study employs frame analysis to examine the anti-smoking messages embedded in the sections of Federal Law No. 15 that regulate the information and communication campaigns. The study's results illustrate that in addition to the lack of a comprehensive, effective public relations campaign promoting smoking cessation, the rhetoric guiding the enforcement of the anti-smoking legislation enforcement is doomed to yield desired results. This study suggests recommendations for reframing existing messages to enable a more comprehensive and effective Russian anti-smoking.

Keywords:

• Public health
• Health policy
• Russia
• Message framing
• Anti-smoking policy
• Health communication

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexandra Endaltseva

Alexandra Endaltseva is a lecturer and international academic projects coordinator at the Department of Integrated Communications at National Research University ‘Higher School of Economics’ in Moscow. She has a background in international journalism and working for a non-profit public advocacy organization in the United States. Her areas of concentration include health communication and public relations, political economy and consumer culture, and gender studies. She serves as a supervisor to the student group working on public health projects in Moscow, Russia.

Maria Mordvinova

Maria Mordvinova is a Deputy Head of the Department of Integrated Communications at National Research University ‘Higher School of Economics’ in Moscow. She is an academic coordinator of BA program in Advertising and Public relations at Higher School of Economics. She also teaches a course ‘International Public Relations’.