CIGARETTE PACKETS THAT contain branding are more appealing to female smokers, a new survey has shown.

The survey – the results of which appear in the medical journal BioMed Central – involved posing a series of online questions to 640 Brazilian women.

The group were asked to choose from images of cigarette packets, which fell into the following three categories:

• Those with no markings whatsoever
• Those with a brand name and description only
• Standard cigarette packages

Each of the 10 random packages were then rated by users, based on things such as their perceived appeal, associated health risk, taste, smoothness and so called ‘smoker attributes’ – what participants thought the particular package said about them.

At the end, each participant was asked to choose the cigarette package which they would prefer as a (fictional) free gift.

The results showed that the standard cigarette pack was three times more likely to be chosen than the plain packs.

In addition, the fully branded packs were associated with more favourable ‘smoker attributes’, such as style and sophistication.

Read: Tobacco companies “targeting Irish women and girls” >

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