Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business, University of Celal Bayar, Manisa, Turkey.
School of Health Sciences and Sport, Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK.
Tob Control. 2018 Nov;27(6):631-636. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2017-053902. Epub 2017 Nov 9.
The Turkish Government's 'National Tobacco Control Program 2015-2018' included plans to introduce plain packaging and also a ban on brand names on cigarette packs, allowing only assigned numbers on packs. We explored perceptions of these proposed measures, and also pack inserts with cessation messages, another novel way of using the packaging to communicate with consumers.
Eight focus groups were conducted with 47 young adult smokers in Manisa and Kutahya (Turkey) in December 2016. Participants were shown three straight-edged plain cigarette packs, as required in Australia, and then three bevelled-edged plain packs, as permitted in the UK. They were then shown plain packs with numbers rather than brand names, and finally three pack inserts with messages encouraging quitting or offering tips on how to do so. Participants were asked about their perceptions of each.
Plain packs were considered unappealing and off-putting, although the bevelled-edged packs were viewed more favourably than the straight-edged packs. Numbered packs were thought by some to diminish the appeal created by the brand name and potentially decrease interest among never smokers and newer smokers. Pack inserts were thought to have less of an impact than the on-pack warnings, but could potentially help discourage initiation and encourage cessation.
That bevelled-edged plain packs were perceived more positively than straight-edged plain packs is relevant to countries planning to introduce plain packaging. The study provides a first insight into smokers' perceptions of a ban on brand names, which was perceived to reduce appeal among young people.
土耳其政府的“2015-2018 年国家烟草控制计划”包括引入平装和禁止香烟包装使用商标名称的计划，只允许在包装上使用指定号码。我们探讨了这些拟议措施以及带有戒烟信息的包装插页的看法，这是另一种利用包装与消费者沟通的新颖方式。
2016 年 12 月，在土耳其马尼亚萨和库塔亚进行了 8 次焦点小组讨论，共有 47 名年轻成年吸烟者参加。参与者展示了三种直边平装香烟包装，这是澳大利亚的要求，然后展示了三种斜边平装包装，这是英国允许的。然后，他们展示了没有品牌名称但有数字的平装包装，最后展示了三个带有鼓励戒烟或提供如何戒烟提示的包装插页。参与者被问到他们对每种包装的看法。
虽然斜边平装包装比直边平装包装更受欢迎，但平装包装被认为没有吸引力，令人反感。一些人认为，编号包装可能会降低品牌名称所创造的吸引力，并可能降低从未吸烟者和新吸烟者的兴趣。包装插页被认为不如包装上的警告有影响力，但可能有助于阻止开始吸烟并鼓励戒烟。
斜边平装包装比直边平装包装更受欢迎，这与计划引入平装包装的国家有关。该研究首次深入了解了吸烟者对禁止商标名称的看法，这种看法被认为会降低年轻人的吸引力。
