Cigarette branding 'misleading'
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The open display of tobacco products is set to be banned

Subtle branding on cigarette packets is misleading smokers into believing some products are less harmful than others, research suggests.

Products branded "smooth", "silver" or "gold" are generally believed to be healthier and easier to give up, a survey of 1,300 people found.

Participants in the study were shown pairs of cigarette packs and asked to compare what they were like, or what they assumed they would be like, in terms of taste, tar levels, health risk, attractiveness, how easy they would be to give up and how attractive they would be to someone choosing to smoke for the first time.

The results from 800 adult smokers and 500 teenagers, all in the UK, also showed that lighter-coloured packaging led people to believe the cigarettes had a lower tar content or were generally less harmful.
Marlboro packs with a gold label were rated as having a lower health risk by 53% of adults and easier to quit by 31%, when compared with the Marlboro packs with a red logo.


EU rules ban any claims that some cigarettes are safer than others.

Sources:
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/smoking.htm

Tatarov Anton