Warnings on plain packets for cigarettes get noticed

Health warnings on plainpackaged cigarettes have more of an impact on smokers than those on branded packs, according to new research from the University of Stirling.

In one of the first studies to explore how smokers responded to plain – or standardised – packaging, experts at the Institute of Social Marketing surveyed smokers in 2017 when both standardised and fully-branded packs were on the market.

The team found that smokers using plain packs were more likely to have noticed the warnings “often” or “very often” compared to those who never used them. This group also read warnings closely “often” or “very often”, thought “somewhat” or “a lot” about the health risks of smoking and quitting, and were more likely to have noticed a stop smoking website on packs.

Dr Crawford Moodie, who led the study, said: “We found that UK smokers currently using standardised packs were more likely, than those who had never used standardised packs, to have noticed and read, or looked closely at, the health warnings.”

The UK became the third country to fully bring in plain tobacco packaging in May 2017, following Australia and France.