ArticleBMJ open2019
Prospective longitudinal study of tobacco company adaptation to standardised packaging in the UK: identifying circumventions and closing loopholes.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- An experimental evaluation of the effects of banning the sale of flavored tobacco products on adolescents' and young adults' future nicotine vaping intentions.Addictive behaviors · 2023Trial
- Article
- The policy implementation playbook: a cross-policy taxonomy of post-adoption tobacco industry tactics.Globalization and health · 2026Review
- The tobacco industry at the health-environment nexus: a framing analysis of the UK 'disposable' e-cigarette ban.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- Impact of Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations on cigarette consumption and youth smoking in England: interrupted time-series analysis.Tobacco control · 2025Article
- Recommendations for updating regulations on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco and nicotine products in the European Union.Tobacco prevention & cessation · 2025Article
- A multi-country analysis of transnational tobacco companies' market share.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Impact of Visual Elements of Tobacco Packaging on Health Risk Perceptions of Youth Groups.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The 'filter fraud' persists: the tobacco industry is still using filters to suggest lower health risks while destroying the environment.Tobacco control · 2022Article
- Evidence on article 5.3 of FCTC (tobacco industry interference in tobacco control activities) in India- a qualitative scoping study.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Longitudinal evaluation of the impact of standardised packaging and minimum excise tax on tobacco sales and industry revenue in the UK.Tobacco control · 2021Article
- Reporting of Differences in Taste Between Branded and Unbranded Cigarettes by Smokers Blinded to Cigarette Branding: Within-Person, Randomized Crossover Study.JMIR formative research · 2021Article
- The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.Tobacco prevention & cessation · 2021Article
- Price differentials of tobacco products: A cross-sectional analysis of 79 countries from the six WHO regions.Tobacco induced diseases · 2021Article
- Consumer Response to Standardized Tobacco Packaging in the United Kingdom: A Synthesis of Evidence from Two Systematic Reviews.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Review
- Tobacco industry tactics to circumvent and undermine the menthol cigarette ban in the UK.Tobacco control · 2020Article
- [Smoke-free Germany 2040: a discussion paper].Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2020Review
- Plain packaging of tobacco products: Lessons for the next round of implementing countries.Tobacco induced diseases · 2020Article
- Standardised packaging, minimum excise tax, and RYO focussed tax rise implications for UK tobacco pricing.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesUK standardised packaging legislation was introduced alongside pack size and product descriptor restrictions of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive to end tobacco marketing and misinformation via the pack. This paper aims to assess compliance with the restrictions and identify attempts to continue to market tobacco products and perpetuate misperceptions of harm post legislation. DESIGN, SETTING AND
interventionA prospective study of the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products to the UK. PARTICIPANTS AND OUTCOMES: We analysed commercial sales data to assess whether the legally required changes in pack branding, size and name were implemented. To explore any adaptations to products and packaging we analysed sales data, monthly pack purchases of factory-made (FM) cigarettes and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, tobacco advertisements from retail trade magazines and articles on tobacco from commercial literature (retail trade, market analyst and tobacco company publications).
resultsOne month after full implementation of the UK and European Union policies, 97% FM and 98% RYO was sold in compliant packaging. Nevertheless, tobacco companies made adaptations to tobacco products which enabled continued brand differentiation after the legislation came into force. For example, flavour names previously associated with low tar were systematically changed to colour names arguably facilitating continued misperceptions about the relative harms of products. Tobacco companies used the 1-year sell-through to their advantage by communicating brand name changes and providing financial incentives for retailers to buy large volumes of branded packs. In addition, tobacco companies continued to market their products to retailers and customers by innovating exemptions to the legislation, namely, filters, packaging edges, seals, multipack outers, RYO accessories, cigars and pipe tobacco.
conclusionsTobacco companies adapted to packaging restrictions by innovating their tobacco products and marketing activities. These findings should enable policy makers globally to close loopholes and increase the potential efficacy of standardised packaging policies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.