Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32790798›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Size matters: An analysis of cigarette pack sizes across 23 European Union countries using Euromonitor data, 2006 to 2017.

May C I van Schalkwyk, Martin McKee, Jasper V Been, Christopher Millett, Filippos T Filippidis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Small/Kiddie Cigarette Packaging Size and Its Impact on Smoking: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
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

5 authors.

May C I van SchalkwykPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-2210-2289
Martin McKeeFaculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Jasper V BeenDepartment of Paediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Erasmus MC - Sophia Children's Hospital, University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Christopher MillettPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Filippos T FilippidisPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

Department of Health
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe tobacco industry (TI) has used small cigarette pack sizes to encourage brand-switching and consumption, and to mitigate the impacts of tobacco tax increases. Since 2016, the European Union (EU) Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) specifies a minimum pack size of 20 cigarettes. We examined cigarette pack sizes in the EU and whether pack size composition differed between cheap and expensive price segments, as well as the impact of the revised TPD.

methodsWe conducted a longitudinal analysis of pricing data from 23 EU countries between 2006-2017. We examined pack sizes over time to assess the impact of the TPD, differences in pack size composition between cheap and expensive price segments, and compared gaps in median prices between products using actual and 'expected' prices (price if all packs contained 20 sticks).

resultsCigarette pack sizes changed over time, across the EU. The distribution of pack sizes varied between price segments, with small pack sizes especially frequent in the cheap segment of the cigarette market, but this varied over time and across countries. Packs of <20 cigarettes almost disappeared from the data samples after implementation of the TPD.

conclusionImplementation of the TPD appears to have virtually eliminated packs with <20 cigarettes, restricting their use by the TI. Our analysis suggests pack sizes have been used differentially across the EU. Country-level analyses on the industry's use of pack sizes, consumer responses, and evaluations of restricting certain pack sizes are needed to confirm our findings and strengthen policy.

Indexed as

CommerceEuropean UnionHumansLongitudinal StudiesProduct PackagingTobacco IndustryTobacco Products

Identifiers

PMID32790798
PMCPMC7425903

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.