The Institute for Social Marketing and Health played a key role in creating and reviewing evidence that led to the implementation of standardised (plain) packaging in the UK. We are also now playing a leading role evaluating the impact the policy has had on young people, adult consumers, and the tobacco market.

Last week saw the publication of a new Cancer Research UK (CRUK) report based on some our early evaluation evidence. Specifically, the report summarises two projects commissioned by CRUK to examine how retailers and tobacco companies responded to standardised packaging. We conducted one of the studies, examining implementation in small retailers. The ISMH research was led by Martine Stead, and involved Nathan Critchlow, Douglas Eadie, Anne Marie MacKintosh, Kathryn Angus and Crawford Moodie. The second study, examining implementation across the UK tobacco market (including larger retailers such as supermarkets), was conducted by the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath. This project was led by Anna Gilmore, Rosemary Hiscock and colleagues.

The findings and recommendations provide a comprehensive summary of market changes before, during and after, the implementation of standardised packaging. Several findings of note from the ISMH research are:

• Tobacco companies used the full 12-month transition period to delay the removal of fully-branded tobacco products from the market. This prolonged use of this important marketing tool until compliance was mandatory.

• Tobacco companies used the full 12-month transition period to delay and then only gradually introduce products in standardised packaging. This tactic may have mitigated some of the immediate intended effects of the legislation by gradually desensitising consumers to the new unattractive designs.  

• The prices for leading tobacco products increased as standardised packaging was implemented. These rises are at odds with tobacco companies’ claims that standardised packaging would lead to lower prices, therefore increasing the affordability of tobacco and, subsequently, consumption. Conversely, in fact, our data suggested that Recommended Retail Prices (RRPs) also increased, which implies it was the tobacco companies who instigated the price rises. 

The full report, including Bath’s findings, is well worth a read. We hope the conclusions will contribute to the UK Government’s post-implementation review of standardised packaging (due soon) and provide useful context to other evaluation studies. The report also includes a list of the academic publications that report the findings in detail from both the Stirling and Bath projects.  

ISMH is also conducting a range of other evaluation studies. You can read some of our research papers examining how adolescents, a key target audience for prevention, have reacted to the policy here and here. You can read some of our research examining impacts among adult consumers here, here, and here. You can also read some of our policy research on this legislation by clicking here, here, and here.