Policy Development
Program &
MMResearch provides the evidence base that shapes public health policy and program development. We work with government agencies and health organisations to understand what drives behaviour, what messages resonate, and what changes will make a real difference at a population level.
Tobacco Packaging & Health Warnings - Cancer Council Victoria
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This research was a part of a larger research project undertaken by Cancer Council Victoria to inform the design of corrective information about tobacco product attributes, such as filters and flavours, that have been determined to be misleading for smokers.
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The project involved a series of group discussions with smokers.
During the sessions, we explored smokers’ reactions to a suite of draft health warnings that are being assessed for use on tobacco packaging.
The aim of the research was to explore smokers’ comprehension, understanding and perceived impact of the package health warnings, and identify changes to make to the headlines, images, back-of-pack explanatory messages, side-of-pack and/or under the lid messages to further increase comprehension and impact. -
This research is being used to inform the development of a new suite of warning labels for tobacco packaging.
Informing Policies to Reduce Tobacco Use - Cancer Council Victoria
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We were commissioned by Cancer Council Victoria to undertake a program of qualitative research as a component of a multi-method study of Australian smokers.
The purpose of the research project was to provide a snapshot of where smokers are at in 2022, including perceptions of current barriers and facilitators to cessation, and reflections on the impact of COVID on smoking behaviours. Given the increasing prevalence of e-cigarette usage, the research was also designed to explore these issues in relation to vaping, for those who both smoke tobacco and use e-cigarettes.
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The project involved a series of group discussions smokers aged 25-64 years, including some who were also vaping, segmented into ‘high confidence’ and ‘low confidence’ in their ability to quit smoking.
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This research confirmed that both motivation and capacity-building approaches are required for a comprehensive smoking cessation communications strategy. The findings have been the subject of several publications and conference presentations and were used by Cancer Council Victoria to inform their submissions to the National Tobacco Strategy 2023-2030.