Tobacco Branding, Plain Packaging, Pictorial Warnings, and Symbolic Consumption

Abstract

We use brand association and symbolic consumption theory to explore how plain cigarette packaging would influence the identities young adults cocreate with tobacco products. Group discussions and in-depth interviews with 86 young adult smokers and nonsmokers investigated how participants perceive tobacco branding and plain cigarette packaging with larger health warnings. We examined the transcript data using thematic analysis and explored how removing tobacco branding and replacing this with larger warnings would affect the symbolic status of tobacco brands and their social connotations. Smokers used tobacco brand imagery to define their social attributes and standing, and their connection with specific groups. Plain cigarette packaging usurped this process by undermining aspirational connotations and exposing tobacco products as toxic. Replacing tobacco branding with larger health warnings diminishes the cachet brand insignia creates, weakens the social benefits brands confer on users, and represents a potentially powerful policy measure.

Una revisión del constructo consumo simbólico desde la perspectiva de la experiencia turística

“…Congruencia del objeto consumido con la identidad del consumidor Giddens, 1991;Fournier, 1998;Forehand y Deshpande, 2001;Grier y Deshpande, 2001;Forehand et al, 2002;Reed y Forehand, 2003;Edson y Bettman, 2005;Park, et al 2010;Lee, 2013. Influencia social en la identidad de los individuos y el consumo Diener, 1984;Deaux y Major, 1987;Tajfel y Turner, 1986;Markus y Kitayama, 1991;Banaji y Prentice, 1994;Walsh y Banaji, 1997;Steele, 1988;Tesser, 1988;Pelham y Swann, 1989;Andersen et al, 1997;Cleveland et al, 2013. La búsqueda de aprobación social y su influencia en el consumo Crowne y Marlowe, 1960, 1964Baumeister, 1982Baumeister, , 1987Leary y Kowalski, 1990;Lindbeck, 1997;Rege y Telle, 2004;Hoek et al, 2012. El apoyo social percibido y su influencia en el consumo Russell et al 1980;Shumaker y Brownell, 1984;Steinberg y Silverberg, 1986Wigfield y Eccles, 1992Sedikides y Skowronski, 1991;Higgins, 1990; North y Fiske, 2013. Elaboración propia.…”

Analysis of the Paternalistic Justification of an Agenda Setting Public Health Policy: The Case of Tobacco Plain Packaging

“…Thirdly, marketing content is often an integral part of the product. Branded cigarettes communicate symbolic values (Hoek et al, 2012) and consumer culture research demonstrates the importance of such symbolic values in the development and expression of personal identity (Bahn, 1986;Belk, 1988;Arnould and Thompson, 2005). To the affected consumers, branded cigarette packs are not-as products-relevantly identical to plain cigarette packs.…”

“…The conventional and biodegradable carrier bags are relevantly identical in terms of their core customer benefit (i.e., enabling convenient transportation of products from store to home). 3 However, taking into account insights from consumer research on the role of branding in the construction and expression of self-identity and social belonging (Bahn, 1986;Belk, 1988;Arnould and Thompson, 2005;Hoek et al, 2012), plain packaging turns out to be a form of strong paternalism. There is ample evidence that tobacco brands reflect different lifestyles and symbolic appeals and that especially young consumers use branded tobacco packs as narrative material (Schembri, Merrilees and Kristiansen, 2010) to convey a desirable self-image (Moodie et al, 2012.…”

Adoção de embalagens padronizadas de produtos de tabaco no Brasil: contribuição da ciência da decisão à proteção do direito humano à saúde

“…From the social point of view, studies show that plain packaging reduces the appeal and attractiveness of tobacco consumption and produces a negative perception of the cigarette's flavor (compared to cigarettes in brand packs) 19,20,21,22 . The perception towards individuals that smoke also changes: smokers of tobacco products with plain packs are seen as addicts, outdated, and belonging to a lower social class than smokers of brand packs 7,23,24 .…”