Work

Marketing behind charity: Media narratives of tobacco industry donations in China

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: INTRODUCTIONWhile tobacco industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as marketing strategies have been documented globally, the narrative mechanisms through which media coverage legitimizes tobacco industry charitable donations remain understudied, particularly within China's unique state-monopoly context.This study examines how tobacco industry donations function as marketing through media narratives.METHODS We conducted a secondary systematic content and narrative analysis of news coverage documenting tobacco industry charitable donations recorded in the 2021 China Tobacco Yearbook.Using purposive sampling, we identified 85 news reports from 2020, through comprehensive online searches.Two trained coders independently analyzed all materials using a coding framework based on narrative theory, examining eight dimensions including narrator types, character construction, narrative perspectives, and framing strategies (Cohen's κ=0.85; 95% CI: 0.78-0.91).RESULTS Analysis revealed systematic narrative strategies designed to enhance tobacco companies' public image.Key findings include: 82.35% (n=70) of headlines explicitly mentioned tobacco company names; reporting frames emphasized national policy alignment (37.65%; n=32), health benefits (34.12%; n=29), and corporate social responsibility (30.6%; n=26); tobacco companies appeared as primary actors in 97.6% (n=83) of reports; 100% (n=85) of coverage maintained positive valence toward donations.Chi-squared analysis demonstrated significant associations between character construction and framing strategies (χ 2 =42.84; degrees of freedom, df=4; p<0.001;Cramer's V=0.710).CONCLUSIONS News coverage of tobacco industry donations employs sophisticated narrative strategies that function as a form of tobacco promotion and marketing with implications for World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) Article 13 implementation.These findings suggest the need for further research on regulatory approaches to address all forms of tobacco promotion, including charitable donations and their media coverage, to support effective WHO FCTC implementation.

Source: Tobacco Induced Diseases

DOI: 10.18332/tid/211249