PLAIN PACKAGING: JUST SMOKE AND MIRRORS
Aly Beach and Claudia Latino
During the last election, the Liberal Party of Canada talked of promises to implement plain packaging on cigarettes in an effort to reduce smoking rates. Australia, the UK, and France all stand behind this promise; Canada should stand against it.
The problem is that the plain packaging test-run in Australia was debatably ineffective. Plain packaging will not work. Plain packaging will increase illegal tobaccos sales, and there are already so many safeguards in place to limit advertising, and laws for smoking.
The idea for plain packaging is to essentially make cigarette packs look as unattractive as possible. By removing colours, brand names, and brand-related imagery will make smoking unappealing and smoking rates will decrease.
Those in favour of Plain packaging hope this effort will restrict advertising and promotion on the packages, limit misleading packaging and increase the effectiveness of the health warnings and graphics on the packs.
Professor Sinclair Davidson from Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University of Economics spoke to CBC Radio One’s On the Coast host Stephen Quinn, says that he saw a 26 per-cent rise in illegal cigarette sales.
Davidson’s theory is that due to plain packaging, consumers’ loyalties to certain brands will fade and they will be fine with buying illegal smokes for a lower cost at tobacco stores. When Australia implemented this law, professional service company KPMG says that consumers started to openly ask stores where they could buy cheaper tobacco products, legal or not.
In addition, tobacco companies are against this idea. The companies already have limited rules when it comes to advertising on the packages. Getting rid of brand names, colours, and other details won’t be the motivation to quit because people who smoke don’t care about the outside.
According the American Heart Association says that smoking is hard to quit for two reasons. One is the nicotine addiction. Nicotine is a highly addictive naturally found in tobacco. The sensation of inhaling nicotine gives the feeling of relaxation or stress relief, even if just temporary. The second reason is habit. Smoking is habit forming, and smokers may associate cigarettes with everyday things like eating, making it difficult to quit.
Brands already can’t truly advertise their products. In Canada, tobacco companies cannot openly advertise on TV or anywhere, not even shops where they are sold. Except for first nations reserves.
In 2008 the government implemented a ban on cigarette retail displays in shops where they are sold, which also cuts down on brand advertising. Tobacco companies’ advertising is already so limited. it’s doubtful that taking away one of their smallest and only ways to sell their products will make a difference.
If a well-known brand such as McDonald’s took away their infamous golden arches, it is unlikely that regular customers won’t be eating there anymore. Karen Haller, a colour and design consultant says the colour red triggers stimulation, appetite, and attracts attention. Yellow triggers feelings of happiness and friendliness.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, It is the same with cigarette packaging. For example, blue coloured packs are associated with a light taste, a lighter taste may be perceived to be healthier.
Health warnings take up 75 per-cent of the space on packages, a colour or brand on the package doesn’t significantly distract from them. Making a small change like that is simply a waste of resources.
In conjunction with the advertising laws, there are also many other laws regarding smoking. There are language and advertising laws. Restrictions of where you can smoke, who you can smoke with, smoking in the car and so on. If these laws haven’t already deterred people from smoking, it’s doubtful that simply changing the packaging will help.
Australian economics Davidson says, “Once you take into account the price effects and you take into account the general decline in smoking anyway, there’s no evidence to support the hypothesis, that the plain packaging had any effect in itself.”
Plain cigarette packaging is not in any kind of demand. With the foreseen increase in illegal cigarettes, the already apparent lack of advertising and the strict laws enforced by the Canadian government, plain packaging will not motivate smokers to quit. Smokers care about smoking, not the packs themselves.
There must be a better solution that is tailored to Canada’s needs, not some second-hand system that has yet to prove itself. If Canada truly wants to reduce its smoking rates, plain packaging is not the way to go. The country would have better results if they invested in and created more quit smoking programs that are affordable and accessible.