Plain packaging on cigarette packets made smoking less attractive to smokers, says study
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The introduction of plain packaging on packets of cigarettes in 2018 achieved the desired policy objective of making the habit less attractive to smokers, according to new research.
A study on the attitudes of Irish smokers to the use of plain packaging found it significantly reduced the appeal of cigarettes and increased the effectiveness of graphic health warnings on packs. The policy also gained additional support from smokers following the change.
The survey showed 47% of smokers found their pack of cigarettes had less appeal than a year previously after plain packaging was introduced compared to 28% before branding was prohibited. The proportion who disliked their pack of cigarettes rose from 48% to 53% after the change.
The survey also found that 64% of smokers said they noticed the health warning first on cigarettes packs with plain packaging compared to 53% with the branded products.
The study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, found there were statistically significant changes in consumer responses to plain packaging policy implementation in seven out of 13 aspects of the issue.
Plain packaging of tobacco products is not a requirement under the current version of the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive.
However, a total of 103 countries had adopted strong graphic health warnings on cigarette packets by the end of 2022, while 22 countries had legislated for plain packaging, including seven EU member states.
Ireland was the first EU country to introduce legislation to require plain packaging for cigarettes in 2018, increasing the effectiveness of health warnings on the packets and reducing the ability of those packets to mislead consumers about smoking-related harm.
Smoking prevalence among adults aged 15 years and older has decreased from 23% in 2015 to 18% in 2023.
However, the survey also revealed that the likelihood of smokers believing that their tobacco product was more harmful than the previous year had decreased following the introduction of plain cigarette packs — from 15% to 11%.
The study admitted that the reduction in perceived harm following the change was “unexpected given the stated policy objectives".
Researchers said the finding might be explained by “some wear-out” in the effectiveness of graphic health warnings and said it underlined the importance of changing the warnings on cigarette packs to maintain their effectiveness.