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How Tobacco Companies in China Promote Their Products through Cigarette Packaging?

Findings from the ITC China Survey

LI QiangDept. Psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada

Tobacco Control Office, China CDC

China Tobacco Control Forum－ from research to action

Lijiang Oct. 20th 2011

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

• (a) tobacco product packaging and labeling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark, figurative or any other sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than other tobacco products. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”, or “mild”

Guidelines for implementation of Article 11of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Preventing packaging and labelling that is misleading or deceptive

Parties shall adopt and implement, in accordance with their national law, effective measures to ensure that tobacco product packaging and labelling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about the product’s characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark or figurative or other sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light” or “mild”, this list being indicative but not exhaustive. In implementing the obligations pursuant to Article 11.1(a), Parties are not limited to prohibiting the terms specified but should also prohibit terms such as “extra”, “ultra” and similar terms in any language that might mislead consumers.

Guidelines for implementation of Article 11of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

• Parties should prohibit the display of figures for emission yields (such as tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide) on packaging and labelling, including when used as part of a brand name or trademark.

• Parties should consider adopting measures to restrict or prohibit the use of logos, colors, brand images or promotional information on packaging other than brand names and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style (plain packaging). This may increase the noticeability and effectiveness of health warnings and messages, prevent the package from detracting attention from them, and address colory package design techniques that may suggest that some products are less harmful than others.

Study Aim

To study how does Chinese company promote tobacco product by packaging and labelling

Research method

Under the International Tobacco Control （ ITC ） China Survey

ITC as a prospective study was carried out in 7 cities: Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Changsha, Guangzhou, Kunming and Yinchuan

Survey started： 1st round: May-Aug 2006 2nd round: Nov 2007-Mar 2008 3rd round: May-Oct 2009

Data collecting

In the 3rd round survey （ May-Oct 2009）， 3 tobacco retails were selected in each city ， buying tobacco products cost less than 100Yuan/pack Eliminated the repeated data ， in total 621packs (133 brands) of

cigarettes were purchased in 7 cities

After scanning all the cigarettes packs ， input the label, description, color, pattern description, tar, CO, nicotine data to the database. Use Photoshop to measure the background color chromaticity and saturation

Study the main promotion methods by quantitative analysis,using relativity analysis to study the relation between the main background color of the pack and the tar percentage

Research result

1. mostly there are descriptions misleading or deceiving on the cigarette packages, for example： Light aroma （ Huanghelou） breeze （ Xiaoxiongmao） Ultapurified

(Nanjing,Hongsanhuan,Wuyeshen） Treasure （ Baisha） Special aroma （ Shuangxi） Elite （ Honghe, Shilin, Yunyan, Baisha,

Xiaoxiongmao） Pure world, we together heads for

(Huangguoshu) Long filter cigarettes (Liqun） Pure new fashion （ Zhongnanhai） Nano-technology （ Zhongnanhai）

Misleading or deceiving descriptions

Light color used suggesting low harm

Ratio of tar percentage over background main color chromaticity（ r=0.242, p<0.01 ） and saturation（ r=0.351, p<0.01 ） positively related

Among 17 kinds of cigarettes with tar percentage less than 5mg ， 76% use white as the main background color

Among 315 kinds of cigarettes with tar percentage over 10mg, only 10% use white as the main background color

Light blue is also often used

Patterns suggesting low harm

Blue sky and white cloud

snow mountain

Patterns suggesting low harm

Font tar number

Kinds of machine testing cigarettes of low tar number using font figures to suggest lower harm

Font tar number

Labelling Chinese traditional medicine added

It is a unique try to add Chinese traditional medicine into tobacco products here in China. This may suggest lower harm by using the healthy image of the herbs.

Commonly used Chinese traditional medicine including：

ginseng

Cordyceps sinensis

cistanche deserticola

gyrophora

Labelling Chinese traditional medicine added

Promotion through the image of “enterprise social responsibility”

Tobacco companies print their social responsibility on package

Hope project （ Zhongnanhai） Animal protection （ Xiaoxiongma

o）

Special design targeting certain kind of consumers or usage

For female or youth For leaders or as gifts

Special design targeting certain kind of consumers or usage

Labelling the special flavor of the cigarettes

Cigarettes of different flavors are labelled on the package, say mint, cream, strawberry, apple or cherry

According to former survey, tobacco products with different flavor are more attractive to the youth

Labelling the special flavor of the cigarettes

Conclusion

Chinese tobacco companies use kinds of ways to promote the products through packaging, most of the strategies are same as or similar to the western tobacco companies’.

There is a unique way of promotion by the Chinese tobacco companies: adding Chinese traditional medicine

These promoting ways are misleading or deceiving

China should adopting measures, say change into plain package ， to limit the ways of packaging promotion, so as to protect the heath of the people

We hope that one day, Chinese cigarette packs will be like this…

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ITC program funding source

Core funding comes from the American National Cancer Institute (P01 CA138389)

External funding’s from the Canadian Health

Institute

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Research organizations of ITC program

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