Tobacco control research in South Africa from 1978 to 2022: A scoping review

South Africa (SA) is one of the leading countries in tobacco control research in the African region.

To summarise this research over a 44-year period (1978 - 2022), and to identify research gaps.

This is a scoping review of published primary research on tobacco control in SA. Three databases were searched - PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. A spreadsheet to capture specified details of the articles was designed by the researchers. We captured year of publication, names of authors and their affiliation(s), name of journal, title of article, key areas of tobacco control covered by the article, type of study and the funding institution.

We identified 6 743 initial records. A total of 223 articles were included in the final analysis. The number of published primary research articles by year ranged from 1 in 1978 to 22 in 2022. Most studies (46.2%; n=103) focused on prevalence, while cost of e-cigarette use and industry interference received the least attention (0.4%; n=1 each). A total of 79% of the studies used cross-sectional survey design, followed by randomised controlled trials (3.6%; n=8), time series studies (3.1%; n=7) and longitudinal and qualitative studies (2.2%; n=5 each), while costs and benefits analysis (0.4%; n=1) was used much less. Most were published in the South African Medical Journal, and three of the top international tobacco control journals: Tobacco Control, Nicotine and Tobacco Research and Tobacco Induced Diseases. Almost half of the first authors of these publications are based in three institutions: the University of Cape Town (17.0%), the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) (16.1%) and the University of Pretoria (13.5%). SAMRC was found to be the leading funder of tobacco control research/publications in SA.

There has been a steady increase of tobacco control research in SA over the past 44 years, with a sharp increase within the last decade. Most studies used cross-sectional designs and focused on prevalence. More mixed-methods studies are needed to better understand the issue of tobacco in the SA context. More studies are also needed that focus on the impact of policies, nicotine addiction and industry interference. The continued funding of tobacco control research in SA will advance knowledge and inform tobacco control policies in the country.