Rachel O'Donnell
Dr Rachel O’Donnell is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling. She has recently worked on a study exploring changes in smoking behaviours and exposure to second-hand smoke at home as a result of Covid-19 lockdown measures in the UK. Rachel is a qualitative researcher and her interests include the development of health behaviour change interventions, second-hand smoke exposure in the home and other settings, gender and tobacco use and alcohol licensing.
Covid-19 and the tobacco political and health economy
‘Covid-19 and the tobacco political and health economy’ (May 2021) included presentation and discussion of the need for strong tobacco legislation in low and middle income countries associated with the pandemic, pandemic-related changes in smoking and smoking behavior in homes in the UK, tobacco industry influence during the pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 on the sale and consumption of tobacco products in South Africa. Prof. Lekan Ayo-Yusuf (Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South Africa), Louis Laurence (University of Bath, UK), Prof. Corne van Walbeek (University of Cape Town, South Africa) and Dr Rachel O’Donnell (University of Stirling, UK) contributed presentations on the day. Dr O’Donnell will draw on the content/discussion of these presentations to reflect on wider issues related to substance use and Covid-19, and implications for research, policy and practice.