Trial reportBMC public health2018
Perceptions of plain packaging and health warning labels for cannabis among young adults: findings from an experimental study.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the effects of cannabis health warnings on protective health intentions among US adults in legal recreational states.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Trial
- International Policy Approaches for Higher THC Cannabis Products: Are They Applicable to the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Framework?Drug and alcohol review · 2026Review
- Perceptions of Cannabis Vaping Advertising Messages and Warnings Among US Young Adults.Substance use & addiction journal · 2026Article
- Knowledge about the health effects of cannabis before and after legalization of 'recreational' cannabis in Canada: findings from the International Cannabis Policy Study, 2018-2024.Journal of cannabis research · 2026Article
- Developing an online cannabis store paradigm for Cannabis Regulatory Science.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Young Adults' Experiences with Cannabis Retailer Marketing and Related Practices: Differences Among Sociodemographic Groups and Associations with Cannabis Use-related Outcomes.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Cannabis Marketing Strategies in the United States: A Descriptive Analysis of Four Prominent Companies.Substance use & addiction journal · 2025Article
- Correct Recognition and Appeal Ratings of Copycat Cannabis Edible Packaging: Evidence from an Online Experiment.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2025Article
- Packaging of Cannabis Edibles, Health Warning Recall, and Perceptions Among Young Adults.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Neighborhood demographics in relation to marketing and regulation-related factors among cannabis retailers in 5 US cities.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- A content analysis of cannabis edibles package marketing in the United States.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Article
- Warning Labels as a Public Health Intervention: Effects and Challenges for Tobacco, Cannabis, and Opioid Medications.Annual review of public health · 2024Review
- A systematic review of cannabis health warning research.Preventive medicine reports · 2024Review
- Appeal rating and visual attention associated with youth-appealing cannabis packaging: An eye-tracking experiment.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Health warning messages on cigarette packs: how young smokers process it.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2021Article
- Perceived Importance of Factors in Cannabis Purchase Decisions: A Best-worst Scaling Experiment.The International journal on drug policy · 2021Article
- The importance of psychology for shaping legal cannabis regulation.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2021Review
- Perceptions of U.S. and Canadian Cannabis Package Warnings Among U.S. Adults.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Article
- Government-mandated warnings on cannabis legally sold for recreational use.Journal of cannabis research · 2020Article
- Cannabis Legalization and Acute Harm From High Potency Cannabis Products: A Narrative Review and Recommendations for Public Health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is strong evidence that plain cigarette packaging and health warning labels (HWLs) reduce brand appeal and increase health knowledge. There is limited evidence examining this population-level public health approach for cannabis packaging. This issue is of particular importance in light of the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada. The current study examined perceptions of plain packaging and HWLs for cannabis packages among young adults.
methodsAn online experimental study was conducted with a sample of university students in Alberta, Canada (n = 656). Respondents were randomly assigned to view cannabis packages in one of four conditions: Condition 1: branded pack, Condition 2: plain pack (uniform color, brand imagery removed, standardized font), Condition 3: branded pack with a HWL, and Condition 4: plain pack with a HWL. Respondents in Conditions 3 and 4 viewed five text-based HWLs, each corresponding to a health effect associated with cannabis use: (1) brain development, (2) mental health issues, (3) impaired driving, (4) nonlethal overdose, and (5) addiction. After viewing packs, respondents rated packs and health warnings on various measures.
resultsBranded packages without HWLs were rated as most appealing compared to all other packs (p < 0.001 for all contrasts). No differences were found in ratings of appeal when comparing branded and plain packs with HWLs. Warning messages for cognitive development and impaired driving were rated highest on levels of perceived effectiveness, believability, and fear, whereas the addiction warning was rated among the lowest. In general, there were gaps in health knowledge related to cannabis use, however after viewing packs with warnings (compared to viewing packs without warnings) levels of health knowledge increased across all health effects (p < 0.01 for all). Lastly, a significant majority of young adults reported they would purchase the branded pack without a HWL (39.5%), compared to all other pack types (p < 0.05 for all contrasts). The lowest proportion of young adults reported they would purchase a plain pack with a HWL (1.1%).
conclusionsPlain packaging and health warnings may reduce brand appeal and increase health knowledge among young adults.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.