Abstract

As the tobacco industry is no longer permitted to market their products using traditional marketing media in France, tobacco packaging has grown in importance as a promotional tool. According to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), plain tobacco packaging may help reduce the promotional appeal of tobacco product. To investigate this, 540 people (15-25 years) in France were randomly exposed to one of four Marlboro packs (branded pack or white, grey or brown plain pack) and asked about pack and product appeal (attractiveness, quality, taste), purchase interest and the most salient feature of the pack. Results highlight that the three plain packs were found to significantly reduce the appeal of the pack and product, purchase interest, and increase the salience of the health warning. Significant differences were found between the three plain packs: the white and grey packs were perceived to contain lighter tasting cigarettes compared to the brown pack and the grey pack increased motivation to purchase the pack. The findings are consistent with past research, even using multiple plain packs, and suggest that plain packaging would function as a meaningful extension of existing marketing bans in France and indeed across europe. The study also suggests that white or light grey are unsuitable colours for plain packaging because respondents consider it contains light cigarettes. Brown is the most suitable colour for detracting young people from tobacco, with probably a better negative impact with a darker hue of the brown colour.

Keywords:

demarketing, social marketing, tobacco, packaging.