Plain cigarette packs do not exert Pavlovian to instrumental transfer of control over tobacco-seeking

Abstract

Aims: To gain insight into the potential impact of plain tobacco packaging policy, two experiments were undertaken to test whether 'prototype' plain compared with branded UK cigarette pack stimuli would differentially elicit instrumental tobacco-seeking in a nominal Pavlovian to instrumental transfer (PIT) procedure.

Design, setting and participants: Two experiments were undertaken at the University of Bristol UK, with a convenience sample of adult smokers (experiment 1, n = 23, experiment 2, n = 121).

Measurement: In both experiments, smokers were trained on a concurrent choice procedure in which two responses earned points for cigarettes and chocolate, respectively, before images of branded and plain packs were tested for capacity to elicit the tobacco-seeking response in extinction. The primary outcome was percentage choice of the tobacco- over the chocolate-seeking response in plain pack, branded pack and no-stimulus conditions.

Findings: Both experiments found that branded packs primed a greater percentage of tobacco-seeking (overall mean = 62%) than plain packs (overall mean = 53%) and the no-stimulus condition (overall mean = 52%; Ps ≤ 0.01, ŋp (2) s ≥ 0.16), and that there was no difference in percentage tobacco-seeking between plain packs and the no-stimulus condition (Ps ≥ 0.17, ŋp (2) s ≤ 0.04). Plain tobacco packs showed an overall 9% reduction in the priming of a tobacco choice response compared to branded tobacco packs.

Conclusions: Plain packaging may reduce smoking in current smokers by degrading cue-elicited tobacco-seeking.

Keywords: Cue-reactivity; Pavlovian to instrumental transfer; plain packaging; public health; smoking cessation; tobacco-seeking..

Figure 1

Examples of the cigarette pack stimuli presented on-screen prior to choice between the tobacco- versus chocolate-seeking response in the Pavlovian to instrumental transfer (PIT) test: (a) plain pack; (b) branded pack

Figure 2

The vertical axis shows the mean percentage choice of the tobacco- versus chocolate-seeking response [± standard error of the mean (SEM)] during the Pavlovian to instrumental transfer (PIT) test (50% = equal choice or indifference). The horizontal axis shows the stimulus that was presented on the screen before a response choice was made: either no-stimulus, an image of a plain pack (Fig. 1a) or a branded pack (Fig. 1b). In both experiments, the branded pack stimulus primed tobacco-seeking more than the no-stimulus and plain pack conditions, and the latter two conditions did not differ