Since 2013, the Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) has collected unique cigarette packs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with the highest burden of tobacco use. These collections aim to capture one of every unique pack presentation available in each country. In August of 2013, 324 unique cigarette packs were collected from Kyiv, Lviv, and Donetsk.
At least 100 countries have national laws regulating e-cigarettes including laws related to the sale (including minimum age), advertising, promotion, sponsorship, packaging (child safety packagingand health warning labeling), product regulation (nicotine volume/concentration, safety/hygiene, ingredients/flavors), reporting/notification, taxation, use (vape-free) or classification of e-cigarettes. This is available in English or Spanish.
Cigarette packs are an important marketing tool since they are carried around with users and are on display at the point-of-sale. A mixed-methods study was conducted in two phases in Mexico City in collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health (INSP). Findings from this mixed-methods study showed that pack color is a key feature to increase appeal and to communicate the addition of flavor, influencing perceptions of harm among adolescents in Mexico City. The fact sheet is available in English and Spanish.
On October 1, 2018, Indonesia implemented its first regulation on e-cigarettes, written as a 57% tax on the retail price of e-cigarette liquid. This would exceed the 40% average tax on conventional cigarettes. Economics suggest that if cigarettes and e-cigarettes are substitute products, raising the price of e-cigarettes could drive some people to use cigarettes instead. This would be detrimental to public health. This project used online surveys in a pre-post study design to examine how the 2018 Indonesian tax on e-cigarette liquid affected use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
In a 2016 study, our team found that pictorial health warning labels (HWLs) with messages about smokers harming others were more effective than messages about smokers harming themselves. To test the effectiveness of pictorial HWLs with more specific messagea about smokers harming others, we conducted a follow-up survey in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen in 2017. The new HWLs tested included messages about self-harm, harming family or children, harming others in smoke-free places, and anti-cigarette gift giving.
IGTC worked in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the Pan-American Health Organization, and CONADIC (Comisión Nacional Contra Las Addiciones) to support the research of Belén Sáenz de Miera Juárez (Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur) and Luz Myriam Reynales Shigematsu (Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública). This comprehensive, independent study found that the consumption of illicit cigarettes in Mexico is much lower than what the tobacco industry claims (8.8% vs 17%).
In February 2015, the Turkish Ministry of Health released a circular, proposing a ban on the use of tobacco and tobacco products within at least five meters of the entrance to public buildings. We, therefore, assessed the compliance level of outdoor areas of venues in this study. The study was conducted between December 2016 and January 2017 in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. Researchers observed 44 hospitals and 75 narghile venues for a total of 543 indoor locations and 6673 people observed.
In 2014, the Russian Federation (Russia) implemented comprehensive tobacco control legislation which includes bans on advertising, promotion and retail display of tobacco products. E-cigarettes are not currently regulated in Russia, leaving the country potentially vulnerable to the unregulated availability and marketing of these products.
All countries benefit from protecting their citizens from the harms of tobacco use and reducing its economic toll on national economies. The aim of the Sustainable Development Agenda, and its 17 global goals, is to ensure that "no one is left behind."
The tobacco industry increasingly uses the cigarette pack as a key marketing method. The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) project collected packs from 14 low- and middle-income countries to study compliance with health warning label (HWL) laws and the marketing appeals used in pack designs. These fact sheets show HWL compliance.