Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34789540›Full record

ArticleTobacco control2023

Straw cigarette branding: misleading descriptors and a new Marlboro man.

Graziele Grilo, Kevin Welding, André Salem Szklo, Joanna E Cohen, Katherine Clegg Smith

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

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 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
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, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  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 at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Graziele GriloInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA ggrilo@jhu.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8377-4794
Kevin WeldingInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1833-6691
André Salem SzkloPopulation Research Unit, National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0003-1903-6188
Joanna E CohenInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3869-3637
Katherine Clegg SmithDepartment of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Johns Hopkins University · USInstituto Nacional de Câncer - INCA · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStraw cigarettes are hand-rolled tobacco in a corn straw, common in Brazil and believed to be less harmful by consumers. Traditionally consumed in rural areas and by men, a recent increase in use among young people in urban areas was observed. This study assessed marketing appeals of straw cigarette packaging in Brazil.

methodsFollowing a systematic protocol, unique straw cigarette packs were purchased in 2013, 2016 and 2019 from three cities: Manaus, Salvador and São Paulo. Packs were double-coded for the absence/presence of marketing appeals (ie, luxury/quality, masculinity, classic/timeless, flavours and less harm).

resultsThe number of unique straw cigarette packs purchased as part of the overall sample increased in the most recent collection: 2.3% (n=3), 1.3% (n=2) and 15.5% (n=27) in 2013, 2016 and 2019, respectively. Across the years, all packs presented luxury/quality elements (eg, images of crests); 93.8% (n=30) included the word 'artisanal'. Masculine appeal (eg, images of men) was present on 56.3% (n=18) of packs. Almost half had classic/timeless elements, including the words 'tradition'/'original'. In 2019, 59.3% (n=16) of the packs were flavoured compared with none in previous years. Over a quarter of all packs presented a less harm appeal (eg, 'smooth').

conclusionWe identified an increase in availability of unique straw cigarette packs, strong branding and use of misleading descriptors on the packs. The adoption of plain packaging and the implementation of Brazil's additive ban could help to reduce the appeal of straw cigarettes and curb the current increase in use among youth.

Indexed as

SmokingTobacco ProductsAdolescentBrazilFlavoring AgentsHumansMaleMarketingProduct PackagingFlavoring Agentsadvertising and promotionglobal healthlow/middle-income countrynon-cigarette tobacco productspackaging and labelling

Identifiers

PMID34789540
PMCPMC10313986
OpenAlexW3213731433

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.