Smokers’ perception of cigarette packaging in France before and after the plain packaging

Abstract

Abstract Background The new mandatory packaging for tobacco products (plain pack with larger graphic health warnings) was implemented in France on January 1st 2017. This study examines the impact of this new packaging on smokers' perceptions of their pack by comparing perceptions before (2016) and after (2017) the implementation. Methods Data come from the Santé publique France Health Barometer, a national telephone survey with random sampling. In the 2016 and 2017 editions, respectively 15,216 and 25,319 adults were asked about their tobacco consumption. Two questions were asked to smokers, identical in 2016 and 2017, on the appreciation of the appearance of the package and on the embarrassment to take out the package because of its appearance. Results - The share of smokers stating they do enjoy the look of their pack was divided by 3 between 2016 (53%) and 2017 (16%). Smokers stating that they are embarrassed of taking out their pack in plain sight because of its look were twice as numerous in 2017 (12%) as in 2016 (6%).A reduce appeal of cigarette pack was observed among the youths (18-25 yo) and they are now as few as their elders to enjoy the look of their pack. Conclusions The introduction of plain packaging has certainly had an impact on smokers' perceptions and, within a strong tobacco control context, probably contributed to denormalize smoking in France. Key messages Since the introduction of plain packaging, appeal of cigarette pack decreased and smokers are more often embarrassed of taking out their pack in plain sight because of its look. Our study suggests that the introduction of plain packaging has had an impact on smokers’ perceptions of their cigarette pack.