Does Plain Packaging Cause a Reduction in the Prevalence of Smoking?
Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death worldwide. A recently published Cochraine Review has found that standardised, or plain, tobacco packaging could make tobacco products less appealing and, in turn, lead to a reduction in the amount of people who smoke.
Standardised packaging was recommended by the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) guidelines, a decision based on scientific evidence that packaging influences attitudes and, consequently, behaviours.
Standardised tobacco packaging is usually completely white, displays no logos or branding apart from health warnings, while the product’s name appears uniformly in terms of font, colour and size. Australia was the first country to implement standardised packaging. A number of other countries have either already followed suit or are currently in the process of implementation.