Misinformation and public health: lessons from tobacco for global pandemics

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised global concerns about the impact of misinformation on health beha­vior and outcomes. New technologies and social media have provided tools to disseminate health information on an unprecedented scale, but they can also be used to spread unfounded claims and erroneous information. Recent studies have shown how misinformation can influence preventive health behaviors and impact some groups more than others. The past several decades of experience with tobacco control provides some useful lessons in addressing misinformation. Even after the 1964 report of the Surgeon General which concluded that smoking was a cause of lung cancer, public beliefs about the harms of smoking were slow to change. For several decades, the tobacco industry actively promoted misleading claims about the science of smoking and health. Studies of tobacco prevention programs have demonstrated how attention is needed not only to the information content conveyed but also how it is communicated. The experience of tobacco control over the past several decades provides useful lessons in effective communication and combating misinformation.