Five reasons why we should have plain cigarette packaging

Should we strip cigarette packs of their distinctive designs? Our Policy Officer Joseph Clift thinks the case is compelling.

Tuesday 07 August, 2012

The UK Government’s announcement to launch a consultation on introducing plain cigarette packaging (which ends on August 10 incidentally) has been met with howls of protest from tobacco companies and pro-smoking groups.

Plain packaging, they say, will make no difference to whether people smoke or not. They’d even like you to believe that there is no evidence it would work.

So, why does the BHF believe that we should strip the glitzy designs off cigarette packs? Here are five reasons why we think it will help reduce smoking-related deaths and ill health.

1. Packaging is advertising

With the advertising ban and other marketing restrictions in place, packaging is now the key way for tobacco companies to tell you something about their brand. The colours, designs and logos are all carefully chosen to influence what you think about the product.

And that’s not just our opinion. We asked young people – the group most likely to start smoking - what they thought. Our survey found that 69% considered packaging to be advertising – with less than 10% actively disagreeing.

2. Reducing the appeal of tobacco

A question that’s frequently asked is whether plain packaging would stop people smoking. Peer reviewed research suggests that it would.

The colours, designs and logos are all carefully chosen to influence what you think about the product.

Researchers in Australia looked at what adolescent smokers thought about cigarettes as they removed the different elements of the packaging design – such as colours, branded fonts, and imagery. They found that as the packs became plainer, the teenagers found them less appealing, and their negative perceptions about cigarettes increased.

A study in Canada had similar findings, with plainer packs being associated with fewer positive characteristics, such as glamour, being slim, popular, attractive and sophisticated. These studies have been replicated elsewhere in the world including the UK.

3. Making health warnings more effective

In 2009, the UK became the first country in Europe to put picture health warnings on tobacco products.

Whilst these images help to convey the risks of smoking, the branding on the cigarette packaging dilutes their effectiveness. Several studies have shown that health warnings are more memorable on plain cigarette packs.

4. Making packaging less misleading

It wasn’t so long ago that some cigarette packs carried the words ‘light’ or ‘mild’, reinforcing the idea that certain brands were ‘healthier’ than others. Whilst legislation was introduced in 2003 to stop those words being used, elements of the packaging design, such as colour, still suggest the same ideas.

Only last year, a UK study showed that tobacco packaging misleads young people about the relative harm of products. We found the same thing when we asked young people what they thought about different cigarette brands. Despite the fact that all cigarettes contain harmful toxins, over 25% of regular smokers believed one brand to be less harmful than another based on how the pack looked.

5. Smoking kills

Why does any of this matter? Well, every year around 200,000 children and young people start smoking. That’s a huge number of people who have started a habit which still kills 100,000 smokers each year – including 25,000 people from cardiovascular disease.

That’s why we want this last form of tobacco marketing stubbed out.

The Westminster Government has launched a UK wide consultation asking for your views on the packaging of cigarettes. It ends on August 10 so be sure to show your support for plain packaging by signing our petition today - we'll then send on your support to the consultation.

Sign the petition