Cigarette packaging ‘designed to draw young people’s attention’

A new report from Cancer Research UK has expressed concern over the way in which design elements of cigarette packaging are tailored to attract the attention of young people.

The organisation has launched the new analysis to accompany the debut of The Answer is Plain, a campaign that is calling for support on plans to remove all branding from tobacco packets.

According to the report, internal tobacco industry documents have shown that the size, colour and design of many packets are specifically intended to draw in new smokers, notably teenagers.

Focus group testing conducted by the research charity showed that children are attracted to the bright colours and slick designs, while several brands tailor their image to appeal to specific genders.

Professor Robert West, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco research at University College London, said it is unknown "how big an effect preventing tobacco companies from using packaging to attract smokers will have, but smoking is so dangerous that even a very small effect would save hundreds if not thousands of lives".

This comes after the government launched a new consultation on introducing standardised plain packaging for cigarettes last month.