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. 2015 Apr;24(Suppl 2):ii94-ii97.
doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051826. Epub 2015 Feb 25.

Personal pack display and active smoking at outdoor café strips: assessing the impact of plain packaging 1 year postimplementation

Meghan Zacher  1 , Megan Bayly  1 , Emily Brennan  1 , Joanne Dono  2 , Caroline Miller  2   3 , Sarah Durkin  1 , Michelle Scollo  1 , Melanie Wakefield  1
Affiliations

Personal pack display and active smoking at outdoor café strips: assessing the impact of plain packaging 1 year postimplementation

Meghan Zacher et al. Tob Control. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Aims: We observed tobacco pack display and smoking at outdoor venues over three summers to assess changes in their prevalence following Australia's introduction of plain tobacco packaging with larger pictorial health warnings.

Methods: Between January and April 2012 (preplain packaging (PP)), 2013 (early post-PP) and 2014 (1 year post-PP), we counted patrons, smokers and tobacco packs at cafés, restaurants and bars with outdoor seating. Pack type (branded, plain or unknown) and orientation were noted. Rates of active smoking, pack display and pack orientation were analysed using multilevel Poisson regression.

Results: Prevalence of pack display among patrons declined from pre-PP (1 pack per 8.7 patrons) to early post-PP (1 pack per 10.4), and remained low 1 year post-PP (1 pack per 10.3). This appeared to be driven by a sustained decline in active smoking post-PP (pre-PP: 8.4% of patrons were smoking; early post-PP: 6.4%; 1 year post-PP: 6.8%). Notably, active smoking declined more in venues with children present than in those without. While early post-PP, plain packs were less often displayed face-up (74.0%) and more often concealed (8.9%) than branded packs pre-PP (face-up: 85.2%; concealed: 4.0%), this was not sustained 1 year post-PP (face-up: 85.7%; concealed: 4.4%). Also, external case use increased from pre-PP (1.2%) to early post-PP (3.5%), but returned to pre-PP levels 1 year post-PP (1.9%).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated a sustained reduction in visibility of tobacco products and smoking in public, particularly in the presence of children, from pre-PP to 1 year post-PP. This effect is likely to reduce smoking-related social norms, thereby weakening an important influence on smoking uptake and better supporting quit attempts.

Keywords: branding; health warnings; observational study; packaging; tobacco.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of patrons who displayed a pack (pack display) and percentage of patrons actively smoking (smoking), by phase and presence of children at venue.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wakefield M, Zacher M, Bayly M, et al. The silent salesman: an observational study of personal tobacco pack display at outdoor café strips in Australia. Tob Control 2014;23:339–44. - PubMed
    1. Zacher M, Bayly M, Brennan E, et al. Personal tobacco pack display before and after the introduction of plain packaging with larger pictorial health warnings in Australia: an observational study of outdoor café strips. Addiction 2014;109:653–62. - PubMed
    1. Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 (Cth), Stat. No. 148 (2011). http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/tppa2011180/
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    1. Australia Bureau of Statistics. Technical paper: socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA) 2011 Catalogue no. 2033.0.55.001. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013.

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