Plain packaging for cigarettes may help kick the butt as it diminishes the appeal of smoking, according to a new study.
Such packaging on tobacco products is associated with lower smoking appeal, greater support for the policy and a higher urgency to quit among adult smokers, researchers said.
The study is the first to examine how plain packaging affects smokers thoughts in practise following the roll-out of plain packaging laws in Australia in late 2012.
Researchers said Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain packaging laws. The UK had considered following suit but has reportedly shelved plans to do so.
They surveyed 536 cigarette smokers with a usual brand, of whom 72.3 per cent were smoking from a plain pack and 27.7 per cent were smoking from a branded pack.
The study participants were based in Victoria and surveyed by phone, 'The Conversation' reported.
"Compared with branded pack smokers, those smoking from plain packs perceived their cigarettes to be lower in quality, tended to perceive their cigarettes as less satisfying than a year ago, were more likely to have thought about quitting at least once a day in the past week and to rate quitting as a higher priority in their lives. Plain pack smokers were more likely to support the policy than branded pack smokers," the researchers said.
Some smokers were still able to purchase branded packs at the time the survey was conducted. The researchers acknowledged that "those less interested in quitting may have been more likely to avoid the plain packs" but said they adjusted their results to account for this factor.
"Every consumer goods manufacturer knows that packaging and price are front and centre of the appeal of products," Simon Chapman, Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney, said.
