ArticleTobacco control2023
Evaluating the impact of plain packaging among Canadian smokers: findings from the 2018 and 2020 ITC Smoking and Vaping Surveys.
Article in Tobacco control, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 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.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effect of plain cigarette packaging on point-of-sale purchasing behavior among young adults who smoke.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2026Article
- Trends in Noticing and Responding to, Health Warning Labels on Cigarette Packages Among Adults Who Smoke: Findings from the ITC Four Country Surveys Between 2002 and 2022.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Managing Fear Responses: A Qualitative Analysis of Pictorial Warning Labels Five Years Post-Plain Packaging.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Article
- The impact of the introduction of tobacco product plain packaging on consumer responses in Ireland: a real-world policy evaluation stratified by socioeconomic groups.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- Impact of standardized tobacco packaging on smoking-related behaviors and perceptions in Singapore.Tobacco induced diseases · 2024Article
- How do current tobacco warnings compare to the WHO FCTC guidelines: a content analysis of combustible tobacco warnings worldwide.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Is perception reality? Associations among "light" cigarettes and number of cigarettes smoked per day.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Support for pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packages in the United States among adults who currently smoke or quit smoking: Findings from the ITC US Smoking and Vaping Surveys.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Evaluating the Effects of Denmark's New Tobacco Control Act on Young People's Use of Nicotine Products: A Study Protocol of the §SMOKE Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Moving targets: how the rapidly changing tobacco and nicotine landscape creates advertising and promotion policy challenges.Tobacco control · 2022Review
- Plain packaging on tobacco products in France: Effectiveness on smokers' attitudes one year after implementation.Tobacco induced diseases · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn February 2020, Canada implemented plain packaging without any changes to the size and content of health warning labels (HWLs), which were last updated in 2012 (pictorial HWLs on 75% of the pack front and back). This pre-post evaluation study assessed the impact of plain packaging in Canada on: (1) pack appeal; (2) HWL effectiveness; and (3) support for plain packaging. Additionally, a quasi-experimental design was used to assess the Canadian results relative to two comparator countries: Australia, where plain packaging (with new larger HWLs) was implemented in 2012, and the United States (USA), where plain packaging has not been implemented and the same text warnings have appeared on cigarette packs since 1985.
methodsData are from adult smokers who participated in the 2018 and/or 2020 International Tobacco Control Smoking and Vaping Surveys in Canada (n=4600), Australia (n=1834) and the USA (n=3046). Online surveys were conducted before (February to July 2018) and after (February to June 2020) the implementation of plain packaging in Canada. Adjusted regression analyses were conducted on weighted data.
resultsPlain packaging was associated with a significant increase in the percentage of Canadian smokers who did not like the look of their cigarette pack (2018: 28.6% vs 2020: 44.7%, p<0.001), whereas no change in pack appeal was observed among smokers in Australia and the USA over the same period. Plain packaging was not associated with changes in HWL effectiveness in Canada. Support for plain packaging increased significantly among Canadian smokers (2018: 25.6% vs 2020: 33.7%, p<0.001).
conclusionsPlain packaging in Canada substantially reduced pack appeal and increased support for the policy among adult smokers; however, there was no increase in the effectiveness of Canada's 8-year-old HWLs. The impact of plain packaging on health warning effectiveness may depend on the design of the warnings and length of time since implementation.
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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.