Public policy and society, the case of changing smoking behaviour in the USA

This paper focuses on analysing the gradual change in smoking behaviour that took place overtime in the USA from a public policy theoretical lens, by focusing on three critical events at the national and regional levels. Two events occurred at the national level that shaped the change; the release of the Surgeon General's Report in 1964 and the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998. At the regional level, the paper focuses on the post-settlement allocation of funds, specifically in the State of Alabama, and how it affected behavioural smoking changes. Four policy theories are examined: Downs' issue attention cycle, Kingdon's multiple streams framework, punctuated equilibrium, and social construction theory. The paper concludes that the interdisciplinary nature of public policy allows it to explain in depth how smoking behaviour changed over time through tackling different interdisciplinary angles, including the role of policy tools, media, research, advocacy, marketing, and policy entrepreneurs.