Abstract
The pack is a marketing tool for the tobacco industry - its shape, colour, fonts, descriptors and logos attract and mislead smokers. Health warnings on cigarette packs serve as a knowledge reminder for smokers to quit smoking. Plain packaging eliminates brand imagery elements from cigarette packs and has many benefits, including the reduction of intention to smoke and the denormalization of smoking behaviour. The tobacco industry has devised pack and product marketing innovations that thwart the effectiveness of health warnings. Plain packaging policy needs to address these innovations by restricting their use and preventing them from undermining health warnings.
Key Words: Policy, public health, tobacco
Résumé
Le paquet est un outil de commercialisation pour l’industrie du tabac - sa forme, sa couleur, ses polices de caractères, ses descripteurs et ses logos attirent et trompent les fumeurs. Les mises en garde sur les paquets de cigarettes servent à rappeler des connaissances aux fumeurs pour qu’ils cessent de fumer. La banalisation des emballages supprime les éléments d’image de marque des paquets de cigarettes et comporte de nombreux avantages, dont la baisse des intentions de fumer et la dénormalisation de l’usage du tabac. Or, l’industrie du tabac a imaginé des innovations dans la commercialisation des paquets et du produit qui déjouent l’efficacité des mises en garde. La politique de banalisation des emballages doit aborder ces innovations en limitant leur utilisation et en les empêchant de discréditer les mises en garde.
Mots Clés: politique (principe), santé publique, tabac
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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