Cigarettes in brown paper, bad for smokers?

By November 25 2010, 7:20 pm 2 Comments
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I am a smoker, one brand only, Marlboro Reds.


Does that statement count as advertising?


Soon, if the government have their way, I won’t see the pack on display behind a counter, and when I ask for twenty, the box will look just like brown paper.


I have recently noticed a subtle change to the packaging of my favourite draw.


At the top of the pack, where it flips open, instead of shiny cardboard it now has a different texture.


I assume this is for one of two reasons.


It will help regular smokers of the brand know it’s not counterfeit. I haven’t been travelling to get stocked-up on duty-free cartons lately so I don’t know if it’s just for packs on sale in the UK. I wouldn’t buy cheap stuff from the bloke in the pub anyway because I don’t want to wood shavings and/or other nasty stuff polluting my lungs. Smoke from North Virginia’s finest is best. Therefore this new packaging is good for me.


The other reason they could have done this is so that regular users know it’s a proper pack of their favourite fags, and not another brand masked in brown paper. Now is this a marketing ploy that is breaking the spirit of the cigarette advertising and marketing ban?


I don’t think so. It’s only once I’ve chosen to buy a pack is it apparent. Therefore it’s only influencing my choice of brand, and in no way could it be perceived as anything else.


Could it?


You can read my other blogs and about what I do here: www.balloo.co.uk


 

  • James Elder

    If you really want to put people off smoking:- change the colour of the paper around the tobacco of each cigarette from iconic white to a recycled-packaging-nicoteine-stained brown. Putting something that looks like used grease-proof paper in your mouth would give anyone pause for thought. Thoughts like ‘Nice packaging, but what’s in this s**t!’.

  • ross

    i’ve long thought that cigarette brands should be banned. (and alcohol for that matter)

    it’s one thing tolerating, regulating and taxing harmful substances (which i agree with) but allowing them to have brands, allowing them to be cool, serves no purpose to society. the brands make cigarettes cool for youngsters, and then cost everyone billions in health related costs.

    if cigarettes were in plain white boxes withe say “brand 3″ written on them, over time they would completely lose any potential coolness, a 16 year old wouldn’t be tempted to smoke the cool brand his 18 year old mate’s brother smokes. imagine if cannabis was legalised tomorrow, if it were one would assume they would most definately not be allowed to have brands, and would be served in medical type bags with no fancy fonts, or snazzy foil or anything.

    covering cigarettes in brown paper is a great first start in this direction.

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