Labelling

Plain tobacco packaging could "help remove misconceptions about product safety", according to a new report by anti-smoking pressure group Ash.

The Beyond Smoking Kills report, published today (7 October), uses research from the University of Nottingham that showed packs displaying the words 'smooth' and 'gold' were considered "lower tar and lower health risk" than regular packs.

Lighter colours had a similar effect on participants, with packs seen as being less harmful or easier to quit.

When asked to compare plain versions of packs, where only the brand name was present on a brown or white background, participants were "more likely to indicate there were no differences between the risks of these brands".

Amanda Sandford, Ash research manager, told Packaging News: "In the UK, we have quite good measures in place such as the ban on tobacco advertising, and the government is considering other measures such as removing packs from the point of sale.

"But tobacco companies have designed packs so that light packs that use light colours mean that people think they are less harmful and we want to remove the branding to break that association in order to stop people being mislead," she added.

The research examined 516 adult smokers and 806 young people aged 11-17 years, both smokers and non-smokers.

From this month, all cigarette packs have to be printed with graphic images to show the potential harm caused by smoking.