Standardized packaging and illicit tobacco use: A systematic review

Haighton, Catherine; Taylor, Catherine; Rutter, Ailsa

doi:10.18332/tpc/70277

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Research exploring perceptions and use of tobacco and nicotine products not covered by plain packaging, where applicable, is also important. While a potential increase in illicit tobacco use as a result of plain packaging has been central to industry opposition to this policy, the impact on illicit tobacco use has received limited attention 75. Although research suggests neither the availability nor use of illicit tobacco has changed,76–78 research on illicit use outside of Australia is needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plain tobacco packaging: progress, challenges, learning and opportunities

et al. 2022

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The aim of this paper is to overview progress made with respect to the adoption of plain (or standardised) packaging, key challenges faced, evaluative evidence and opportunities for extending this policy. It has been a decade since Australia became the first country to require tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging; after slow initial uptake, 16 countries have now fully implemented this policy. Since 2020, plain packaging laws have become more comprehensive in some countries, expanding coverage beyond traditional tobacco products to include heated tobacco, tobacco accessories (rolling papers) and other nicotine-containing products (e-cigarettes). Laws have also become more innovative: some now ban non-biodegradable filters, include provision for a periodic change of the pack colour or require both plain packaging and health-promoting pack inserts. The tobacco industry has and will continue to use multi-jurisdictional strategies to oppose this policy. Evaluations suggest that plain packaging has improved health outcomes and has not burdened retailers, although research is limited to early policy adopters and important gaps in the literature remain. While the power of packaging as a sales tool has diminished in markets with plain packaging, tobacco companies have exploited loopholes to continue to promote their products and have increasingly focused on filter innovations. Opportunities exist for governments to strengthen plain packaging laws.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plain tobacco packaging: progress, challenges, learning and opportunities

et al. 2022

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“…This study is in contrast to tobacco industry claims that standardised packaging would increase the use of illicit tobacco. A systematic review in 2017 found no evidence that standardised packaging was linked to increased illicit trade in ten included studies [8]. There was no evidence of an increase in illicit tobacco purchasing in relation to standardised packaging in Australia which was the first country to implement such legislation in 2012 [16] though this study used different methodology where illicit products were based on brands and product details rather than place of purchase.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Prior to implementation, the tobacco industry argued that implementation of standardised packaging would lead to a substantial increase in illicit tobacco sales [6,7]. Their main argument was that it would be easier to counterfeit standardised packaging and therefore the illicit products will be cheaper and easier to access though no specific estimates of illicit market changes were provided [8]. Tobacco tax increases are intended to increases the cigarette prices and in turn encourage smoking cessation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between the implementation of standardised tobacco packaging legislation and illicit tobacco and cross-border purchasing in England: a time-series analysis between 2012 and 2020

Vincent,

Laverty,

Brown

et al. 2024

Tob Control

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BackgroundIn May 2016, the UK announced standardising packaging legislation for tobacco products. There was a 12-month transition period with both branded and standardised packs on the market until May 2017. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the implementation of standardised packaging in England was associated with changes in illicit tobacco and cross-border purchasing.MethodsWe used Smoking Toolkit Study data covering the time period from 2012 to 2020. We ran time-series analysis using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with Exogenous Variable models to investigate the monthly changes in illicit tobacco and cross-border purchasing in England. The model was adjusted for other tobacco control policies implemented during the relevant time period and tobacco pricing. We used May 2017 as an implementation point and run sensitivity analysis using July 2016 and February 2017 as alternative implementation points given phased introduction of the policy.ResultsThe average prevalence of illicit tobacco and cross-border purchasing in the past 6 months was 14.4%. The implementation of standardised tobacco packaging legislation was associated with a monthly decline in illicit tobacco and cross-border purchases after May 2017 by 0.16% per month (beta=−0.158, 95% CI −0.270 to −0.046). The results were robust to considering different implementation points for the policy (July 2016: beta=−0.109, 95% CI –0.213 to −0.005; February 2017: beta=−0.141, 95% CI −0.245 to −0.036).ConclusionsIn contrast to the tobacco industry’s argument that the legislation would lead to an increase in the illicit tobacco and cross-border market, this study demonstrates that the implementation of the policy is associated with a decline in illicit tobacco and cross-border purchases in England.

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“…The tobacco industry has opposed plain packaging based on the key argument that it will increase the illicit tobacco trade (Lie et al, 2018;Crosbie et al, 2019;Gallagher et al, 2019). However, research evidence does not substantiate this argument (Joossens, 2012;Evans-Reeves et al, 2015;Scollo et al, 2015b;Haighton et al, 2017). Additionally, post-implementation studies in countries that have implemented plain packaging have shown that it has contributed to the reduction of smoking prevalence and facilitated the easier identification of illicit cigarettes from other countries (Brennan et al, 2015;Durkin et al, 2015;Scollo et al, 2015a;Wakefield et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The 2018 public consultation on standardized packaging in Singapore: Analysis of policy actors' submissions

Amul

2022

Front. Polit. Sci.

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After a public consultation in 2018, Singapore implemented standardized tobacco packaging as part of its portfolio of tobacco control policies in 2020, in compliance with Article 11 guidelines for implementing the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This study analyzed policy actors in opposition to standardized packaging in Singapore and their submissions to the public consultation. Policy actors were profiled, and their arguments were then coded and compared across submissions. Descriptive results were then summarized in a narrative synthesis. In total, 79 submissions were considered for final analysis that opposed plain packaging in Singapore. Thematic analysis shows that transnational tobacco companies and their subsidiaries in Singapore, along with a variety of policy actors opposed to the standardized packaging policy, have significant similarities in arguments, often with identical statements. Industry tactics included framing tobacco as a trade and investment issue; utilizing trade barriers, intellectual property, and investment rights; pursuing litigation or threat of litigation; mobilizing third-party support and citing policy failure. This study provides evidence that further contributes to the growing literature on commercial determinants of health particularly industry tactics and, in this case, where the tobacco industry and its local and global allies, utilize to counter evidence-based tobacco control measures.

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Standardized packaging and illicit tobacco use: A systematic review

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

Plain tobacco packaging: progress, challenges, learning and opportunities

Plain tobacco packaging: progress, challenges, learning and opportunities

Association between the implementation of standardised tobacco packaging legislation and illicit tobacco and cross-border purchasing in England: a time-series analysis between 2012 and 2020

The 2018 public consultation on standardized packaging in Singapore: Analysis of policy actors' submissions

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