The dilemma of coordinated communication in China’s e-cigarette governance: A computational discourse analysis of a social media controversy

TL;DR

This paper examines how poor communication strategies in China's e-cigarette regulations led to public confusion and weakened health-focused messaging.

Contribution

The paper introduces 'coordinated communication' as a new framework for tobacco governance in digital public discourse.

Findings

Public discussions on e-cigarettes focused more on morality and freedom than health risks.

Lack of coordinated messaging allowed counter-narratives to challenge regulatory legitimacy.

A multi-stakeholder approach is recommended to rebuild health-centered discourse.

Abstract

Amid increasingly stringent e-cigarette regulations in China – including taxation, flavor bans, and advertising restrictions – coordinated communication has emerged as a key challenge in tobacco control. This study investigates a viral incident involving Blackpink’s Jennie to explore how failures in strategic narrative coordination have undermined the legitimacy of regulatory efforts.

This study combined web scraping, large language models (LLMs) topic modeling, and critical discourse analysis (CDA) to collect and analyze an e-cigarette-related event on the Chinese social media platform Weibo from July to October 2024.

Findings reveal that although e-cigarette-related content was widely circulated, public discourse largely lacked critical health framing. Instead, discussions often shifted toward moral judgments, cultural identity, and individual freedoms. This discursive vacuum weakened the normative foundation of tobacco control and enabled counter-narratives that questioned the state’s regulatory intent.

The study introduces ‘coordinated communication’ as both an analytical framework and a practical imperative for effective tobacco governance. Our Research argues that legal regulation must be accompanied by proactive narrative leadership to sustain public health legitimacy. A multi-stakeholder governance mechanism involving health authorities, media institutions, and digital platforms is recommended to rebuild a coherent, health-centered public discourse in the digital

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