The Malaysian generation end game: content analysis of online news coverage, generational perception and expert opinion

The Generation End Game (GEG) strategy bans tobacco sales to people born after 2007 to reduce tobacco usage. The measure aims to reduce Malaysia's smoking rate to 5% by 2040 and prevent adolescents from being addicted to tobacco. Aims: This study aims to examine how Malaysian online news articles responded to the proposed Generation End Game (GEG) policy following the announcement of a plan to impose a generational smoking ban for individuals born in 2007 and later. It also seeks to analyse the perceptions of Malaysians who commented on these news articles via social media. Additionally, the study aims to explore smoking behaviour and assess the baseline knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of young adolescents regarding the proposed GEG policy. It further investigates changes in adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions after a comprehensive briefing on the GEG policy, and explores the determinants influencing their views. Finally, the study aims to assess tobacco control experts' perceptions of the proposed GEG policy.