Johannesburg - Plain cigarette packaging could create an incentive for some smokers to quit smoking, a new study has found.
This is according to research findings from a doctoral thesis by University of Cape Town (UCT) post graduate student Nicole Vellios that investigated quitting behaviour in South Africa.
It revealed that plain packaging, where manufacturers can only print, on a dull background, the brand name in a standard size, font, and position on the pack, would effectively reduce people’s utility for cigarettes.
Vellios, who is a researcher at the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products at UCT, graduated with a PhD in Economics this week.
Her research on plain cigarette packaging was one of three chapters that considered different aspects regarding smoking cessation. The other two chapters looked at the determinants of smoking cessation, and illicit trade.
Vellios’ plain packaging research found that smokers preferred not to buy plain packs, and non-smokers preferred not to try plain packs. Cigarettes from plain packs were also perceived to be less desirable than branded packs, and thus provide less utility.
The research also found that smokers and non-smokers perceived plain packs to pose the most significant health risk.
Vellios’ research is considered significant from a public health policy perspective, as it demonstrates that plain packaging is effective in discouraging people from smoking.
In December 2012, Australia became the first country to mandate plain packaging on all tobacco products and since then another 21 countries have implemented plain packaging.
South Africa is contemplating legislation that aims to introduce both pictorial health warnings and plain packaging. And Vellios’ research provides locally-generated data that indicates that plain packaging is effective in reducing the demand for cigarettes.
The data for her study was collected in 2021 from 1 400 UCT students which included both smokers as well as non-smokers.
The UCT students were shown several packs at the same time and were required to make trade-offs to reach a decision. From the data that was collected, it was possible to determine people’s preferences.
Cigarette advertising has been banned in South Africa for more than 20 years and one of the last avenues to promote cigarettes is through the use of cigarette packs themselves.
Health experts believe that plain packaging restricts the industry’s use of the cigarette pack as a promotional vehicle, reducing the appeal of cigarettes.
Plain packaging, together with Graphic Health Warnings (GHW) such as diseased lungs, rotting teeth or a gangrene foot, is a low-cost way to communicate the health risks of tobacco use. GHWs were introduced by Canada in 2000 and have subsequently been adopted in 134 countries, but South Africa is not one of them.
“Given that South Africa has 11 official languages and a high level of illiteracy, graphic health warnings will be more effective in communicating the risks of smoking,” said Vellios.
“The existing ban on the sale of single cigarettes should be enforced to ensure that smokers and non-smokers see the health warnings on plain packs. By printing warnings on individual sticks, smokers who buy single sticks will at least see a written health warning,” she said.