“Their Packaging Has Always Been Like a Power”: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Smokers’ Perceptions of Cigarette Pack Visual Design Features to Inform Product Regulation

Lee, Joseph G. L.; Averett, Paige E.; Blanchflower, Tiffany; Landi, Nunzio; Gregory, Kyle R.

doi:10.3390/ijerph14101234

Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue

Article Menu

...

Open AccessArticle

“Their Packaging Has Always Been Like a Power”: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Smokers’ Perceptions of Cigarette Pack Visual Design Features to Inform Product Regulation

^1,*

³,

¹ and

Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA

School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA

Department of Interior Design and Fashion Merchandising, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(10), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101234

Received: 24 August 2017 / Revised: 30 September 2017 / Accepted: 12 October 2017 / Published: 17 October 2017

(This article belongs to the Section Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion)

View Full-Text Download PDF Citation Export

Abstract

Cigarette packaging matters to consumer behavior. However, it is less clear which changes to packaging design would be salient for adult smokers. Such information is critically important to regulators in the United States who are charged with reviewing new tobacco products for their impact on population health. In this qualitative study, U.S. adult smokers (n = 33) participated in six telephone-based focus groups in March 2017. Separate groups were comprised of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) participants; participants with less than four years of post-secondary education; a mix of LGB and straight participants; and, the general population. All groups were purposely selected for diversity. Open thematic coding identified salient design elements used on cigarette packaging. Smokers articulated design elements’ use, meaning, and links with consumer behaviors. Three themes were identified: (1) the power of color, (2) supporting color with other design elements (e.g., logos/images, typography, the pack itself), and (3) the combined product brand experience of multiple design elements. Participants linked design elements to product characteristics and to consumer behavior (e.g., purchase). As the Food and Drug Administration is charged with regulating tobacco products, these findings suggest the importance of considering the cigarette pack part of the characteristics of a product. View Full-Text

Keywords: marketing; product packaging; smoking; United States Food and Drug Administration; tobacco products

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Supplementary Material

Supplementary File 1:
Supplementary (PDF, 139 KiB)

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Lee, J.G.L.; Averett, P.E.; Blanchflower, T.; Landi, N.; Gregory, K.R. “Their Packaging Has Always Been Like a Power”: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Smokers’ Perceptions of Cigarette Pack Visual Design Features to Inform Product Regulation. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1234. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101234

AMA Style

Lee JGL, Averett PE, Blanchflower T, Landi N, Gregory KR. “Their Packaging Has Always Been Like a Power”: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Smokers’ Perceptions of Cigarette Pack Visual Design Features to Inform Product Regulation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(10):1234. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101234

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lee, Joseph G.L., Paige E. Averett, Tiffany Blanchflower, Nunzio Landi, and Kyle R. Gregory. 2017. "“Their Packaging Has Always Been Like a Power”: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Smokers’ Perceptions of Cigarette Pack Visual Design Features to Inform Product Regulation" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 10: 1234. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101234

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

“Their Packaging Has Always Been Like a Power”: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Smokers’ Perceptions of Cigarette Pack Visual Design Features to Inform Product Regulation

Abstract

Supplementary Material

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI