Industry overview
What is shaping tobacco
Tobacco research sits at the meeting point of regulation, public health and farm livelihoods. Every study we take on in this sector follows strict ethical guidelines and focuses on compliance, awareness, livelihoods and cessation.
- Point-of-sale and packaging rules are tightly regulated
- Public-health programmes track awareness and cessation
- Farm households weigh alternative crops and livelihoods
Client background
An education and health partnership, working in Two states. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- An education and health partnership
- Sector
- Tobacco
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Government research, Quantitative research, Qualitative research
Client challenge
A school-based programme aimed to raise awareness of tobacco harms. The partners wanted to know whether sessions were delivered as planned and what students remembered.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: evaluating a school tobacco-awareness programme.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 10 weeks.
Target audience
Scope: 60 schools.
Audiences we typically reach in tobacco
Retailers and point-of-sale ownersTobacco farmersPublic-health programme teamsAdults trying to quitRegulators and enforcement officials
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Two states. Market: India. 60 schools covered.
- India
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2Teacher interviews
- 3Anonymous student survey with parental consent
- 4Insight
Following strict child-safeguarding procedures, with parental consent and school permission, we used short anonymous questionnaires about knowledge and attitudes, and interviewed teachers about delivery. No identifying information was collected from students.
Government researchQuantitative researchQualitative research
Sampling strategy
- Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.
Data collection
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
Data quality & validation
- Recordings and transcripts for every session
- Re-screening of qualitative recruits
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
Key findings
- Delivery was inconsistent where teachers lacked training time.
Research with young people requires strict safeguarding, minimal data and anonymity by design.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: research with young people requires strict safeguarding, minimal data and anonymity by design.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: delivery was inconsistent where teachers lacked training time.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The partners shortened the curriculum and added teacher training before the next academic year.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Interview summaries and key verbatims
- Evaluation findings with programme recommendations
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how aware are people of health warnings?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.