Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31664975›Full record

Trial reportBMC public health2019

Standardised snus packaging reduces brand differentiation: a web-based between-subject experiment.

Torleif Halkjelsvik, Janne Scheffels

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Plain Packaging: One of the Plain Simple Solutions for Nicotine Reduction in the Middle East.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Torleif HalkjelsvikDepartment of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 222, Skoeyen, 0213, Oslo, Norway. Torleif.Halkjelsvik@fhi.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3851-6996
Janne ScheffelsDepartment of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 222, Skoeyen, 0213, Oslo, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPerceptions of tobacco packaging may be consequential for consumption and initiation. We explored the potential effect of standardised packaging on young adults' ratings of the appeal of brands of snus (Swedish moist snuff) and on their perceptions of typical users of these brands. We were interested in both the effects on average levels of ratings and on the within-subject variability of the ratings. The latter was used as a measure of the extent to which individuals can differentiate between brands.

methodsA sample of 625 Norwegians aged 16-30 were randomly allocated to one of three between-subject conditions: Branded Packaging, Standardised Packaging, or Standardised Packaging with Health Warnings. The participants rated 10 snus brands on measures of general appeal and on their perceptions of the typical brand user (e.g., "… is sporty and active").

resultsThe standardised packages (without health warnings) were not rated more negatively than the branded packages, while the standardised packages with health warnings were rated slightly more negatively than the branded packages. However, in terms of within-subject standard deviations, the variability of the brand ratings across the packages was substantially lower for standardised packaging types in comparison to branded packages.

conclusionsEven in cases where standardised tobacco packaging appears to have little overall effect on the valence of the average ratings, it can have a strong effect on the variability of the ratings. This suggests that standardised packaging can reduce the potential for brand differentiation.

Indexed as

Social PerceptionTobacco, SmokelessAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansInternetMaleNorwayProduct PackagingYoung AdultBrandingDifferentiationPlain packagingSmokeless tobaccoSnusStandardised packaging

Identifiers

PMID31664975
PMCPMC6821023

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.