Waterpipe tobacco and public health: a content analysis of media discourse on waterpipe tobacco smoking across Africa

Introduction Despite its known health risks, the tobacco epidemic is evolving as waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) in Africa increases. This study explores media coverage of WTS in Africa to identify key themes, misinformation and opportunities for public health education.Methods Between October and December 2023, we analysed media articles using Tobacco Watcher, an online surveillance portal that compiles news from over 595 000 web sources. We searched for English-language articles published in Africa that discussed WTS between 2012 and 2023 with Boolean terms (ie, 'shisha OR hookah OR waterpipe OR narghile AND Africa'). Themes identified include WTS regulations, health risks, venues, youth uptake, misconceptions/myths and tobacco industry perspectives.Results We found 137 eligible articles from 15 of the 54 African countries. Most articles came from Kenya (n=39), Nigeria (n=21) and Egypt (n=17). 92 (67.1%) discussed the health risks of WTS, 37 (27.0%) referenced youth uptake and 6 (4.4%) discussed tobacco industry views about WTS. Over two-thirds (n=97, 70.8%) of articles discussed proposed or implemented WTS bans, with most from Kenya (n=34). Additionally, 27 (19.7%) discussed misconceptions/myths related to WTS, of which Nigeria (n=7) and Ghana (n=5) had the highest proportion.Conclusion Findings reveal widespread concern about health risks and strong interest in the regulation of WTS in the media. A significant portion of articles discussed misconceptions about WTS, highlighting the need for targeted education campaigns to dispel myths and protect public health.