Abstract

Tobacco companies use brand variant name on cigarette packaging to differentiate, and create interest in, their products. We explored young peoples’ reactions to brand variant names on cigarette packs and perceptions of replacing these with numbers, a proposed policy in Turkey. Twelve focus groups, segmented by gender, age (11-12, 13-14, 15-16) and social grade (ABC1, C2DE), were conducted across Britain from May–July 2018 (n = 89). Participants were asked what they thought about brand names in general, and on cigarette packs, and perceptions of replacing the brand variant name on cigarette packs with a number. Brand (variant) name was considered important for products, including cigarettes, and thought to communicate information about the product, image, price, and taste, and encourage purchase. Although replacing brand variant names on cigarette packs with numbers caused confusion, several participants mentioned that it would eliminate any remaining marketing power that the pack may have. They thought that numbered cigarette packs could be off-putting due to the absence of a familiar brand name, although the impact on smokers was considered negligible. Although adolescents were not clear on the rationale for numbered cigarette packs, some suggested that this would reduce one of the few remaining promotional features on standardised packs.

摘要

烟草公司在香烟包装上使用品牌变体名称来区分他们的产品，并引起人们对他们产品的兴趣。我们探讨了年轻人对香烟包装上的品牌变体名称的反应，以及用数字代替这些名称的看法，这是土耳其的一项拟议政策。2018 年 5 月至 7 月在英国各地开展了 12 个焦点小组，按性别、年龄（11-12 岁、13-14 岁、15-16 岁）和社会等级（ABC1、C2DE）划分（n = 89). 参与者被问及他们对品牌名称和香烟包装的总体看法，以及对用数字代替香烟包装上的品牌变体名称的看法。品牌（变体）名称被认为对包括香烟在内的产品很重要，并被认为可以传达有关产品、图像、价格和口味的信息，并鼓励购买。虽然用数字替换香烟包装上的品牌变体名称会造成混淆，但一些参与者提到这将消除包装可能具有的任何剩余营销力量。他们认为，由于没有熟悉的品牌名称，编号的香烟盒可能会令人反感，尽管对吸烟者的影响被认为可以忽略不计。尽管青少年不清楚香烟盒编号的原因，