Packaging Policy Research Articles

Presenting a strong and united front to tobacco industry interference : a content analysis of Australian newspaper coverage of tobacco plain packaging 2008–2014

ObjectivesIn 2012, Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain or standardised tobacco packaging, coupled with larger graphic health warnings. This policy was fiercely opposed by industry....

Flavor Capsule Variants' Performance in a "Dark Market": Implications for Standardized Packaging.

By increasing excise taxes, eliminating tobacco marketing, and requiring standardized (plain) packaging of tobacco products, governments internationally have reduced smoking's allure. Yet product innovations, such as flavor capsule variants (FCVs), remain unregulated and may appeal to non-smokers. We examined the growth of FCVs in a country with a progressive policy environment. Each year, New Zealand tobacco companies must provide details of the number of cigarette sticks released for each brand and variant to the Ministry of Health. We used this information to analyze FCVs' performance for British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI), which account for a large proportion of New Zealand tobacco sales. We report the quantity released of each variant and share of parent brand portfolio, and examine growth patterns within the premium, everyday, and value market subsections. BAT introduced FCVs in 2012 and by 2014 offered FCVs in all market subsections; PMI introduced a Marlboro FCV in 2014. FCVs grew rapidly relative to unflavored variants and, by 2017, represented nearly 10% of BAT's product portfolio and more than 3% of PMI's product portfolio. By 2017, FCVs accounted for more than a third of the Dunhill sticks released, 14% of Holiday, and 17% of Pall Mall. FCVs' rapid growth may have reduced declines in the numbers of sticks released. Policy makers should disallow FCV innovations, which offer no health benefits to smokers and may instead attract non-smokers to smoking. Where timely, these regulations could be incorporated into standardized packaging policies. FCVs have grown quickly in countries with comprehensive tobacco marketing restrictions, which suggests tobacco companies are now focusing on novel product designs to attract new smokers. Standardized packaging regulations could address both external packaging and stick design innovations, such as FCVs; alternatively, specific regulations prohibiting FCVs may be required.

Piling up or Packaging Policies? An Ex-Post Analysis of Modal Shift in Four Cities

Recently, there has been wider acknowledgement that sustainable urban mobility will not be triggered by one ‘silver bullet’ policy, or by piling up various policies, but requires a deliberate package of policies. Until recently, studies on policy instrument (or measure) interaction have been primarily ex-ante studies, estimating interactions in the future. However, from an evidence-based policy-making perspective, ex-ante evaluations need to use knowledge gained through ex-post evaluations, a crucial link in the policy cycle. To contribute to the strengthening of this poor link, this paper provides an ex-post analysis of instrument interaction in four northwest European, medium-sized cities: Bruges, Ghent, Jena & Erfurt. By exposing the relationships between the range of mobility policies implemented in relation to modal shift achieved, we offer insight into the crucial difference between ‘piling up policies’ and deliberate policy packages. As such, the paper offers evidence to inform ex-ante analysis for urban mobility policy-making and contributes to policy learning as part of effective governance.

Ranking the Success Factors to Improve Safety and Security in Sustainable Food Supply Chain Management Using Fuzzy AHP

Safety and security in food sector is a big problem in present days. Companies are spending a huge amount of money in safety and security to minimize the food losses. The present work mainly focuses for the improvement of safety and security in Sustainable Food Supply Chain Management (SFSCM). Initially, nine success factors (SFs) relevant to safety and security in SFSCM execution were determined on the basis of literature survey and from expert’s opinion. Therefore, a commonly used multi criteria decision making (MCDM) tool, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is utilized as a method in this work for finding relative importance of among the SFs. Fuzzy AHP is a powerful tool which reduces uncertainty or biasness in the human made judgments between the factors. Packaging and government policies are found to be important success factors in safety and security for implementation of SFSCM. The proposed model can help the practitioners and mangers to plan a long term strategies in efficiently implementing a sustainable food supply chain.

The Use of Sports Imagery and Terminology on Cigarette Packs from Fourteen Countries

ABSTRACTBackground: Tobacco companies have historically associated their products with sports through event sponsorship and sports-themed advertising campaigns. Such linkages serve to enhance brand image by connecting cigarette brands to ideals associated with sports such as strength, individual accomplishment, and a healthy body. Public health policy progress has created restrictions for tobacco sponsorship and restricted traditional advertising avenues for tobacco products. Nonetheless, the pack itself remains as a mechanism by which to link cigarettes to sports and sporting prowess. Thus, we analyze depictions of sport and references to sports terminology on cigarette packs. Objectives: To describe the sports-related marketing appeals on cigarette packages purchased in 14 low and middle income countries. Methods: In 2013, we collected and coded cigarette packs from 14 low and middle income countries and we returned to four of these countries for further data collection in 2015. Packs from both years were assessed for sports-related appeals (text and imagery) and sports-related brand names to identify sports appeals on cigarette packs. Results: The analysis yielded 36 brands with distinct depictions of sport or sporting terminology on the pack. Text-based appeals were found on 24 of the 36 distinct “sports appeal” packs (e.g., “Polo,” “Olympic,” “Win,” “iScore”). Sporting imagery was present on 22 packs (e.g., soccer ball, race car, wrestling match, trophy). Conclusions: The pack is a powerful medium through which tobacco companies continue to associate their products with idealized concepts associated with sports. These are potentially problematic associations that could be restricted through plain and standardized packaging policy initiatives.

What the Government Demanded As Proof for Plain Packaging Efficacy: An Analysis the Public Health Lobby Did Not Perform

In this paper we investigate the independent, and combined, influences of plain packaging and health warnings on smokers’ quit attempts after the introduction of Australia’s plain packaging policy. The Cancer Council Victoria had been contracted by the Commonwealth government to perform such an analysis. We employ the data collected by the Cancer Council Victoria for that purpose (and paid for by the Australian Commonwealth government). Our results suggest that the independent, and combined, influences of plain packaging and health warnings had no statistically significant impact on smokers’ quit attempts as a result of the introduction of the plain packaging policy.

Alcohol Warning Label Perceptions: Do Warning Sizes and Plain Packaging Matter?

There is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of stringent alcohol warning labels. Our experiment tested whether increasing the size of an alcohol health warning lowers product-based ratings. We examined whether plain packaging lowers ratings of alcohol products and the consumers who use them, increases ratings of bottle "boringness," and enhances warning recognition compared with branded packaging. A total of 440 adults (51.7% female) viewed one of three warning sizes (50%, 75%, or 90% of label surface) on either a plain or branded bottle of distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Participants also rated alcohol bottles on product-based (assessing the product itself), consumer-based (assessing perceptions of consumers of the product), and bottle boringness ratings, and then attempted to recognize the correct warning out of four choices. As expected, the size of warning labels lowered product-based ratings. Similarly, plain packaging lowered product-based and consumer-based ratings and increased bottle boringness but only for wine bottles. Further, plain packaging increased the odds of warning recognition on bottles of distilled spirits. This study shows that plain packaging and warning size (similar to the graphic warnings on cigarette packages) affect perceptions about alcohol bottles. It also shows that plain packaging increases the likelihood for correct health warning recognition, which builds the case for alcohol warning and packaging research and policy.

Plain packaging policy: Preventing industry innovations.

The pack is a marketing tool for the tobacco industry - its shape, colour, fonts, descriptors and logos attract and mislead smokers. Health warnings on cigarette packs serve as a knowledge reminder for smokers to quit smoking. Plain packaging eliminates brand imagery elements from cigarette packs and has many benefits, including the reduction of intention to smoke and the denormalization of smoking behaviour. The tobacco industry has devised pack and product marketing innovations that thwart the effectiveness of health warnings. Plain packaging policy needs to address these innovations by restricting their use and preventing them from undermining health warnings.

A review of radio spectrum combinatorial clock auctions

This paper surveys a decade of Combinatorial Clock Auctions (CCAs) to allocate radio spectrum licenses from their inception to 2016. Although all CCAs share a common structure (first an allocation stage and then, an assignment stage), regulators have tailored key variables depending on their spectrum policies and market structures. We identify these variables, such as: spectrum packaging policy, reserve price, demand limit, activity rule, transparency and pricing rule. We also analyze the different ways in which regulators can design them along with their implications. This theoretical work is accompanied by a review of the practical implementation decisions in each actual auction and final outcomes. Although all the information is public, it is not easy to find because it is highly disaggregated. Finally, after having identified advantages and disadvantages in this auction model, we present some proposals to improve the actual mechanism.

Tobacco packaging and labelling policies in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific Regions: Post-deadline assessment of the time-bound measures of WHO FCTC Article 11

1. Hammond D: Tobacco labelling & packaging toolkit: A guide to FCTC Article 11. Chapter 1 Evidence review 2009, 9-46. Available from: http://www.tobaccolabels.ca/wp... (accessed June 2016). Google Scholar

Content analysis of tobacco industry data on the illicit tobacco trade in UK newspapers during the standardised packaging debate

BackgroundStandardised tobacco packaging, which commenced in the UK in May, 2016, has been vehemently opposed by transnational tobacco companies. Previous research has concluded that companies invoke the existence of an illicit trade in tobacco to oppose tobacco control policies and exaggerate its true scale. The argument they make is that such policies will further increase this trade. Independent peer-reviewed evidence does not support claims that illicit tobacco increased after the 2012 implementation of standardised packaging in Australia. In the UK, leaked Philip Morris International documents revealed the tobacco company's intention to utilise third-party “media messengers” to make the argument that the policy will exacerbate the illicit tobacco trade. We aimed to explore whether and, if so, how, transnational tobacco companies presented their data on illicit tobacco in UK newspapers during the standardised packaging policy debate and whether Philip Morris implemented its media messengers plan. MethodsArticles about illicit tobacco published in English language UK newspapers from April 1, 2013, to March 31, 2015, from LexisNexis were examined for presence, nature, and timing of tobacco industry data, which included any illicit tobacco monitoring initiative commissioned or undertaken by transnational tobacco companies in the UK or overseas. Search terms included combinations of “illegal”, “illicit”, “smuggling”, “tobacco”, “cigarette”, all four transnational tobacco companies, and known tobacco industry consultants. Findings428 articles about illicit tobacco were identified. 157 articles (37%) cited industry data, of which 90 (57%) referred to undercover test purchases, the remainder citing data from empty pack surveys, seizures, polls, or data of unknown methodology. 98 (62%) of the 157 articles mentioned ex-Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Will O'Reilly, who conducts undercover test purchases for Philip Morris International; in 34 of these articles, this funding was not disclosed. Most articles were published in regional newspapers (77%, 121/157) and the majority mentioned counterfeit tobacco, so-called cheap whites, or both (72%, 113/157). However, the Institute of Trading Standards revealed that between May and November, 2014, over 70% of the illegal tobacco seized was tobacco industry contraband. InterpretationPhilip Morris International's investment in undercover test purchases appears to have enabled the tobacco industry to secure significant press coverage of its data on illicit tobacco. With over half of the articles in this study referring to a consultant working on behalf of the tobacco company, its plan to use third party media messengers as part of its anti-standardised packaging strategy appears to have been mobilised. Industry-funded third party spokesmen, notably former policemen, are now appearing in other countries, suggesting that this is an industry tactic that should be expected in other jurisdictions. Transparency in all media coverage is essential. FundingKAE-R is supported by Cancer Research UK (C27260/A20488). JLH is supported by the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (MR/KO23195/1). AR is supported by the New Venture Fund.

Standardised tobacco packaging: a health policy case study of corporate conflict expansion and adaptation

ObjectivesTo investigate opposition to standardised tobacco packaging in the UK. To increase understanding of how transnational corporations are adapting to changes in their access to policymakers precipitated by Article 5.3...

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

This article analyses the paternalistic justification of the world's first mandatory tobacco plain packaging policy, which came into force in Australia in 2012. The policy is setting international precedence, with a range of developed and developing countries planning and implementing similar policies. Understanding the paternalistic dimension of the policy is therefore of imminent international importance. The policy meets important ethical benchmarks such as respect for citizens' self-interests and protection of others against harm. However, plain packaging faces a number of ethical challenges: the policy is a controversial type of paternalism; it runs partially against the harm principle; and it fails to meet key operational criteria.

Stubbing Out the Evidence of Tobacco Plain Packaging Efficacy: An Analysis of the Australian National Tobacco Plain Packaging Survey

It appears to be common knowledge that the Australian tobacco plain packaging policy has been successful in meeting its stated policy goals. In this paper we investigate the evidence of tobacco plain packaging policy success as published in a 2015 special issue of Tobacco Control that relied on data drawn from the Australian National Plain Packaging Survey. We find that the three key papers demonstrating the efficacy of the plain packaging policy introduced into Australia in 2012 suffer from inconsistencies and methodological differences. The result are not consistent across the three papers and are not robust to small changes in method choice. In particular we find that model fit is invariably poor. We conclude that contrary to the stated claims of the authors of those papers, and the public health lobby in general, that the evidence is not consistent with the stated aims of the plain packaging policy.

Impact of Canadian tobacco packaging policy on use of a toll-free quit-smoking line: an interrupted time-series analysis.

A policy for new pictorial health warning labels on tobacco packaging was introduced by Health Canada in 2012. The labels included, for the first time, a prominently displayed toll-free number for a quit-smoking line. We used data from the Ontario provincial quitline to investigate the call volume and number of new callers receiving treatment in the months before and after the new policy was introduced. We used an interrupted time-series analysis to examine trends in the overall call volume and number of new callers receiving treatment (≥ 1 telephone counselling session) through Ontario's quitline (Smokers' Helpline) between January 2010 and December 2013. We analyzed data using Box-Jenkins autoregressive integrated moving-average models; we adjusted the models for a major campaign promoting the quitline, a seasonality (January) effect and tobacco pricing. We found a relative increase of 160% in the average monthly call volume during the 7 months after the introduction of the new labels (870 calls per month at baseline and 1391 additional calls per month on average after the policy change; standard error [SE] 108.94, p < 0.001), and a sustained increase of 43% in subsequent months. We observed a relative increase of 174% in the number of new callers receiving treatment (153 new callers per month at baseline and 267 additional new callers per month after the policy change; SE 40.03, p < 0.001) and a sustained increase of 80% in subsequent months. The effect was significant even after controlling for a major promotion campaign and the January effect. We found a significant increase in the monthly overall call volume and number of new callers receiving treatment per month after the introduction of the new tobacco health warning labels, with a sustained increase in overall calls and new callers beyond the first 7 months. Our findings add to the body of evidence on the benefit of including a toll-free quitline number on tobacco packaging.

Impact of Canadian tobacco packaging policy on quitline reach and reach equity

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of the new Canadian tobacco package warning labels with a quitline toll-free phone number for seven provincial quitlines, focusing on treatment reach and reach equity in selected vulnerable groups. MethodsA quasi-experimental design assessed changes in new incoming caller characteristics, treatment reach for selected vulnerable sub-populations and the extent to which this reach is equitable, before and after the introduction of the labels in June, 2012. Administrative call data on smokers were collected at intake. Pre- and post-label treatment reach and reach equity differences were analysed by comparing the natural logarithms of the reach and reach equity statistics. ResultsDuring the six months following the introduction of the new warning labels, 86.4% of incoming new callers indicated seeing the quitline number on the labels. Treatment reach for the six-month period significantly improved compared to the same six-month period the year before from .042% to .114% (p<.0001) and reach equity significantly improved for young males (p<.0001) and those with high school education or less (p=.004). ConclusionsThe introduction of the new tobacco warning labels with a quitline toll-free number in Canada was associated with an increase in treatment reach. The toll-free number on tobacco warning labels aided in reducing tobacco related inequalities, such as improved reach equity for young males and those with high school or less education.

Language for profit: Spanish–English bilingualism in Lowe's Home Improvement

ABSTRACTThe USA is commonly portrayed as a country dominated by the ideology of monolingualism [Dick, Hilary Parsons. 2011. “Language and Migration to the United States.” Annual Review of Anthropology 40: 227–240; Silverstein, Michael. 1996. “Monoglot ‘Standard’ in America: Standardization and Metaphors of Linguistic Hegemony.” Chap. 14 in The Matrix of Language: Contemporary Linguistic Anthropology, edited by Donald Brenneis and Ronald K. S. Macauley, 284–306. Boulder: Westview], yet such a portrayal misses the recent changes in the marketplace brought on by globalization. Duchêne [2009. “Marketing, Management and Performance: Multilingualism as Commodity in a Tourism Call Centre.” Language Policy 8: 27–50] and Heller [2010. “The Commodification of Language.” Annual Review of Anthropology 39: 101–114] argue that in the global economy, multilingualism has become a commodity adding value to the product and a business strategy opening up niche markets in an oversaturated marketplace. In the USA, Spanish has become such a commodity – on TV, in billboards, in ATMs, and in the Lowe's Home Improvement chain. The present paper discusses a case study of a business in a free market economy valorizing language for purely economic gain. Lowe's was the first home improvement chain to react to an increase in Hispanic home ownership implementing a nationwide English–Spanish packaging and signage policy in 2005 [Lowe's Company Inc. 2005. What Does Lowe's Have in Common with This Home?: 2005 Annual Report. Mooresville, NC]. This study explains the company's motivation for the policy and reveals adjustments made at the local level in response to the local environment. The results show that English remains the dominant language at all levels and compliance to policy varies depending on the amount of corporate involvement, the intent of the policy, and the location of the store.

Was the media campaign that supported Australia's new pictorial cigarette warning labels and plain packaging policy associated with more attention to and talking about warning labels?

BackgroundPopulation-level interventions can possibly enhance each other's effects when they are implemented simultaneously. When the plain packaging policy was implemented in Australia, pictorial health warning labels (HWLs) on cigarette packages were also updated and a national mass media campaign was aired. This study examined whether smokers who recalled the media campaign reported more attention to and talking about HWLs. MethodsLongitudinal survey data was obtained among Australian adult smokers, aged 18years and older, from an online consumer panel. One survey wave was conducted before (September 2012) and two waves were conducted after (January 2013 and May 2013) the interventions. The sample was replenished to maintain a sample size of 1000 participants at each wave. Generalized Estimating Equations analyses were performed. ResultsCompared to wave 1, attention to HWLs increased at wave 2 (b=0.32, SE=0.06, p<0.001), but not at wave 3 (b=0.10, SE=0.08, p=0.198). Talking about HWLs increased over time (IRR=1.82, 95% CI=1.58–2.09 and IRR=1.25, 95% CI=1.05–1.47, at wave 2 and wave 3 respectively). Campaign recall was significantly associated with more attention to HWLs (b=0.29, SE=0.05, p<0.001) and with more talking about HWLs (IRR=1.17, 95% CI=1.06–1.29) with similar effects across waves 2 and 3. ConclusionsRecall of the campaign was associated with more attention to and talking about HWLs. When adjusting for campaign recall, there was still an increasing trend in attention and talking. This suggests that the media campaign and the new packaging and labeling policies had independent and positive effects on attention to and talking about HWLs.

Tobacco plain packaging: Evidence based policy or public health advocacy?

In December 2012, Australia became the first country to require all tobacco products be sold solely in standardised or 'plain' packaging, bereft of the manufacturers' trademarked branding and colours, although retaining large graphic and text health warnings. Following the publication of Sir Cyril Chantler's review of the evidence on the effects of plain tobacco packaging, the Ministers of the United Kingdom Parliament voted in March 2015 to implement similar legislation. Support for plain packaging derives from the belief that tobacco products sold in plain packs have reduced appeal and so are more likely to deter young people and non-smokers from starting tobacco use, and more likely to motivate smokers to quit and stay quit. This article considers why support for the plain packaging policy has grown among tobacco control researchers, public health advocates and government ministers, and reviews Australian survey data that speak to the possible introductory effect of plain packaging on smoking prevalence within Australia. The article concludes by emphasising the need for more detailed research to be undertaken before judging the capacity of the plain packaging policy to deliver the multitude of positive effects that have been claimed by its most ardent supporters.

Was the media campaign that supported Australia's new pictorial cigarette warning labels and plain packaging policy associated with more attention to and talking about warning labels?

Was the media campaign that supported Australia's new pictorial cigarette warning labels and plain packaging policy associated with more attention to and talking about warning labels?