Plain packaging can reduce impression some cigarettes are safer

An online survey of 900 consumers of 3 of the most popular cigarette brands in the US suggests that adopting standardized cigarette packing may reduce consumers’ misconceptions that some cigarettes are less harmful than others. Some companies have marketed their cigarettes as ‘low tar,’ ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ but cigarettes marketed with these terms are not safer. Despite passage of a 2010 law that banned this practice, there are still more than 2.5 million U.S. consumers who continue to believe they are using a brand of cigarettes that might be less harmful. An article about the research is published in BMJ Tobacco Control (Press Release University of California San Diego, 18 December 2017).
Click here for the press release.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.

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