Jump to full article: BBC Online, 2009-09-05
Intro: Subtle branding on cigarette packets is misleading smokers into believing some products are less harmful than others, research suggests.
Products branded "smooth", "silver" or "gold" are generally believed to be healthier and easier to give up, a survey of1,300 people found.
But when shown plain packs the false beliefs disappeared, University of Nottingham researchers discovered.
EU rules ban any claims that some cigarettes are safer than others. . . .
The results from 800 adult smokers and 500 teenagers, all in the UK, also showed that lighter-coloured packaging led people to believe the cigarettes had a lower tar content or were generally less harmful. . . .
Professor David Hammond, from the Department of Health Studies and Gerontology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, said: "The truth is that all cigarettes are equally hazardous, regardless of what colour the pack is or what words appear on it.
"These tactics are giving consumers a false sense of reassurance that simply does not exist."
Jump to full article » |