REMOVING brand imagery on the packaging of vapes leads to a decrease in appeal of the product among teenagers, a new study has revealed.
Carried out by Kings College London and Action on Smoking and Health, the researchers said that regulating packaging could be an effective way of stopping young people from using vapes without lessening the appeal of vaping to adults who smoke.
A total of 2,469 teenagers and 12,026 adults were randomly assigned to view a set of three vape products from one of three packaging conditions – fully branded packs, standardised white packaging with brand name, and standardised green packaging with brand name. They were then asked which one they’d like to try.
Researchers found that teenagers were most likely to report that their peers would have no interest in vapes when marketed in standardised packaging. However, interest amongst the adult participants was not reduced by the standardisation of packaging.
Researchers also found that a greater proportion of teenagers who had never smoked or vaped perceived no interest among people their age in trying any of the products shown in standardised packaging – suggesting that removing brand imagery could deter teenagers from taking up vaping in the first place. Importantly, standardisation of packaging did not affect interest in trying vapes among adults who smoke, suggesting that policy to reduce branding elements would not deter this group from trying vapes to stop smoking.
Dr Katherine East, research associate at Kings College London and senior author of the study, said, “Vapes, and nicotine products in general, should be available to adults who smoke to help them to stop smoking but should not be used by non-smokers under the age of 18. Some current e-cigarette packaging has eye catching and enticing designs.
“Our study found that removing brand imagery from packs reduced appeal of vapes to teenagers without reducing appeal to adults. This is a vital difference, as it means that vapes can still appeal to adults as a tool to stop smoking, particularly because our previous research has established vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking.”
Eve Taylor, research assistant at Kings College London and the study’s first author, added, “Britain has seen a rise in the number of teenagers using vapes for the first time. While there are a number of steps that policy makers can take, the ideal situation is to ensure teenagers aren’t tempted to take up vaping in the first place, whilst not deterring adults from using vapes to stop smoking. Our study suggests that removing brand imagery could be a means of doing that.”
In the UK in 2022, 8.3% of adults and 7% of teenagers aged 11-17 reported current vape use – a rise of 3.7% in teens since 2021.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive officer at Action on Smoking and Health, added, “This research shows that it’s possible to make vape packaging less attractive to children, without undermining the appeal of e-cigarettes to adult smokers trying to quit. This is an important finding given the concerning rise in underage vaping in recent times. The government should take note and commit to implementing standardised packaging for vapes and vaping products without delay.”
This study was supported by a project grant from Cancer Research UK and published in JAMA Network Open.
