Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38216315›Full record

Observational studyTobacco control2025

Tobacco product litter as a form of postconsumption marketing: an observational study in India.

Graziele Grilo, Bekir Kaplan, Joanna E Cohen, Paramita Bhattacharya, Nirmalya Mukherjee, Kevin Welding, Ryan David Kennedy

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Tobacco control, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

7 authors.

Graziele GriloInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA ggrilo@jhu.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8377-4794
Bekir KaplanInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2497-4742
Joanna E CohenInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3869-3637
Paramita BhattacharyaCentre for Public Health Research, Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT), Kolkata, West Bengal, India.ORCID 0000-0003-3871-9400
Nirmalya MukherjeeCentre for Public Health Research, Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT), Kolkata, West Bengal, India.ORCID 0000-0001-5137-1010
Kevin WeldingInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1833-6691
Ryan David KennedyInstitute for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9448-5234

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTobacco product litter may be a form of postconsumption marketing if the littered items are branded. We conducted an observational study in India to assess the presence of tobacco product litter and determine the proportion that included branding.

methodsDuring November-December 2022, we identified tobacco product litter (cigarette/bidi butts and packaging; smokeless tobacco packaging) in nine Indian cities: Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai and Patna. In each city, we conducted observations along 15 different routes, each approximately 250 m in distance, for a total of 135 observational routes. Data collectors classified each piece of tobacco litter (product/packaging) and recorded if the litter had visible branding, such as brand names and/or logos.

resultsThe study identified 17 261 pieces of tobacco product litter; SLT packaging comprised the largest proportion of the sample (62%), followed by cigarette butts (26%), bidi butts (8%), cigarette packaging (3%) and bidi packaging (1%). Across the sample, 81% (n=13 924) of the litter was branded. A brand was visible on most packaging for cigarettes (98%), bidis (97%) and SLT (86%), and present on 82% of cigarette butts and 26% of bidi butts.

conclusionThis study found that the majority of tobacco product litter in India is branded, which could function as a form of postconsumption marketing. Plain and standardised packaging and banning branding features on filters would reduce tobacco litter branding.

Indexed as

MarketingProduct PackagingTobacco ProductsHumansIndiaTobacco, SmokelessAdvertising and PromotionEnvironmentLow/Middle income countryPackaging and Labelling

Identifiers

PMID38216315
PMCPMC12128777

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.