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.
But when shown plain packs the false beliefs disappeared, University of Nottingham researchers discovered.
EU rules ban any claims that some cigarettes are safer than others.
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.
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