No Change in Illicit Tobacco Use Following the Introduction of Standardised Packaging? A Longitudinal Online Survey in the United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The tobacco industry has argued for decades that standardised packaging would lead to an increase in illicit tobacco use, but this is not supported by current evidence.

Objective

To explore longer-term associations between standardised packaging and illicit tobacco use.

Design

The Adult Tobacco Policy Survey is a longitudinal online survey with people who smoke or who previously smoked aged 16 and older in the United Kingdom (UK), with one wave pre-standardised packaging (2016) and three waves post-standardised packaging (2017, 2019, 2022).

Methods

Participants who smoke and who bought cigarettes or roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco were asked where they last bought, and usually buy, cigarettes or RYO tobacco to identify illicit purchasing channels. They w

SUBMITTER: Jones D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12715163 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature