Packaging Innovations in Tobacco Industry to Reduce Health Warnings

According to a study published in BMJ Innovations, the tobacco industry has been developing innovative packaging to minimize the impact of regulatory requirements such as graphic health warnings, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

As restrictions on tobacco advertising continue to tighten, tobacco packaging has become an increasingly important tool for the industry to communicate with customers. In fact, cigarette packaging serves as a miniature billboard for the product.

According to the authors of the study, tobacco companies have found ways to maximize or even increase marketing space on their packaging despite the requirements to print large health warning labels. These methods include inserts, sliding covers, and butterfly panels that reveal additional surfaces when opened. As a result, there is less space on the packaging for branding.

These packaging designs typically feature vibrant colors and patterns, intricate images, shiny and textured surfaces, and even holographic effects, all in an effort to appeal to customers. Additional "real estate" is available for including information about promotions or marketing appeals, as well as qr codes that lead current and potential smokers to company websites.

In addition to examples of lawful packaging innovations, the author also presented evidence of explicit manipulation of health warnings. For instance, the author referenced tobacco packaging purchased in India in 2017 which had blurry, stretched, and colored labeling. Similarly, in Pakistan, health warning labels on cigarette boxes purchased in 2019 and 2020 were also colored, faded, and blurry, with changes in background color and reduced sizes of images depicting throat cancer in some cases.

Researchers are urging legislators to require standardized tobacco packaging within their jurisdiction to prevent the reduction of health warning impacts on packaging in the industry.

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