Inserm is launching a survey to assess the impact of the neutral package on French people’s perceptions of smoking.
We’ve heard everything about the neutral package. That in addition to being ugly it is useless, that smokers are not so naive, changing the packaging will not make them give up their sweet sin. Some have even dared the paradox: the neutral package would have the opposite effect of that expected, it would comfort consumers in their self-destructive logic, because of the “moralizing” effect. The tobacco companies have acquiesced, distilled their communication strategy: the neutral package is useless.
Very smart who can say it. The measure establishing the standardized packaging of cigarettes in France is not yet a year old – it has only been mandatory since the 1er January 2017. No evaluation has yet been possible. To overcome this lack of information, disentangle the true from the false, respond to the cries of frustration from manufacturers and retailers, Inserm is launching a vast study. Baptized DePICT (Description of Perceptions, Images and Behaviors related to Tobacco), this analysis aims, among other things, to understand how the French perceive smoking, especially since the introduction of the neutral package.
Seduction
“This involves evaluating the impact on perceptions related to the dangerousness and attractiveness of the product, in particular among young people,” explains Maria Melchior, a researcher at Inserm, who coordinates this work. Only to a certain extent will we attempt to analyze the effect of the neutral package on behavior ”.
The work will include 6000 participants aged 12 to 64, including 2000 aged 12 to 17, interviewed through questionnaires.
Because this is the stated goal of the neutral package: to denormalize tobacco, limit the power of seduction exerted by nicely marketed packages, especially on young people. Finally, the effect on smoking itself is indirect and is part of a long-term logic.
Moreover, the neutral package cannot be sufficient on its own: it must be accompanied by a series of measures aimed at reducing smoking (warnings, prevention, price increases, etc.).
Conclusive results in Australia
Besides France, only Australia has already adopted the neutral package, but other countries are taking this path. Studies carried out since the measure was introduced in 2012 seem favorable. They show a significant effect on the perception of the risks associated with tobacco, a lesser attachment of smokers to their favorite brands, but also an impact on behavior.
Thus, the neutral package is associated with more attempts at weaning and a decrease in initiation of young people.
“You can see differences between Australia and France,” says Maria Melchior. There are many cultural specificities. The French smoke a lot, for example ”. There is therefore nothing to predict the results of this study, the first of which should be available in early 2018.
The National Cancer Institute is funding this work, which the DGS (Directorate General of Health) has called for – after all, the Ministry of Health is behind this law. The study is also part of the PNRT (national plan to reduce smoking).
If its results are favorable, if they show that the neutral package manages to modify the perception of tobacco and limit its attractiveness, this will give some arguments to the French authorities, which are struggling to counter industrial communication.
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