1. 1 How Tobacco Companies in China Promote Their Products through Cigarette Packaging? Findings from the ITC China Survey LI Qiang Dept. Psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada Tobacco Control Office, China CDC China Tobacco Control Forum － from research to action Lijiang Oct. 20th 2011

2. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (a) tobacco product packaging and labeling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark, figurative or any other sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than other tobacco products. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light”, or “mild”

3. Guidelines for implementation of Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control  Preventing packaging and labelling that is misleading or deceptive  Parties shall adopt and implement, in accordance with their national law, effective measures to ensure that tobacco product packaging and labelling do not promote a tobacco product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about the product’s characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including any term, descriptor, trademark or figurative or other sign that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others. These may include terms such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light” or “mild”, this list being indicative but not exhaustive. In implementing the obligations pursuant to Article 11.1(a), Parties are not limited to prohibiting the terms specified but should also prohibit terms such as “extra”, “ultra” and similar terms in any language that might mislead consumers.

4. Guidelines for implementation of Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Parties should prohibit the display of figures for emission yields (such as tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide) on packaging and labelling, including when used as part of a brand name or trademark. Parties should consider adopting measures to restrict or prohibit the use of logos, colors, brand images or promotional information on packaging other than brand names and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style (plain packaging). This may increase the noticeability and effectiveness of health warnings and messages, prevent the package from detracting attention from them, and address colory package design techniques that may suggest that some products are less harmful than others.

5. Study Aim  To study how does Chinese company promote tobacco product by packaging and labelling

6. Research method  Under the International Tobacco Control （ ITC ） China Survey  ITC as a prospective study was carried out in 7 cities: Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Changsha, Guangzhou, Kunming and Yinchuan  Survey started ：  1st round: May-Aug 2006  2nd round: Nov 2007-Mar 2008  3rd round: May-Oct 2009

7. Data collecting  In the 3rd round survey （ May-Oct 2009 ）， 3 tobacco retails were selected in each city ， buying tobacco products cost less than 100Yuan/pack  Eliminated the repeated data ， in total 621packs (133 brands) of cigarettes were purchased in 7 cities  After scanning all the cigarettes packs ， input the label, description, color, pattern description, tar, CO, nicotine data to the database. Use Photoshop to measure the background color chromaticity and saturation  Study the main promotion methods by quantitative analysis,using relativity analysis to study the relation between the main background color of the pack and the tar percentage

8. Research result  1. mostly there are descriptions misleading or deceiving on the cigarette packages, for example ：  Light aroma （ Huanghelou ）  breeze （ Xiaoxiongmao ）  Ultapurified (Nanjing,Hongsanhuan,Wuyeshen ）  Treasure （ Baisha ）  Special aroma （ Shuangxi ）  Elite （ Honghe, Shilin, Yunyan, Baisha, Xiaoxiongmao ）  Pure world, we together heads for (Huangguoshu)  Long filter cigarettes (Liqun ）  Pure new fashion （ Zhongnanhai ）  Nano-technology （ Zhongnanhai ）

9. Misleading or deceiving descriptions

10. Light color used suggesting low harm  Ratio of tar percentage over background main color chromaticity （ r=0.242, p<0.01 ） and saturation （ r=0.351, p<0.01 ） positively related  Among 17 kinds of cigarettes with tar percentage less than 5mg ， 76% use white as the main background color  Among 315 kinds of cigarettes with tar percentage over 10mg, only 10% use white as the main background color  Light blue is also often used

11. Patterns suggesting low harm  Blue sky and white cloud  snow mountain

12. Patterns suggesting low harm

13. Font tar number  Kinds of machine testing cigarettes of low tar number using font figures to suggest lower harm

14. Font tar number

15. Labelling Chinese traditional medicine added  It is a unique try to add Chinese traditional medicine into tobacco products here in China. This may suggest lower harm by using the healthy image of the herbs.  Commonly used Chinese traditional medicine including ：  ginseng  Cordyceps sinensis  cistanche deserticola  gyrophora

16. Labelling Chinese traditional medicine added

17. Promotion through the image of “enterprise social responsibility”  Tobacco companies print their social responsibility on package  Hope project （ Zhongnanhai ）  Animal protection （ Xiaoxiongmao ）

18. Special design targeting certain kind of consumers or usage  For female or youth  For leaders or as gifts

19. Special design targeting certain kind of consumers or usage

20. Labelling the special flavor of the cigarettes  Cigarettes of different flavors are labelled on the package, say mint, cream, strawberry, apple or cherry  According to former survey, tobacco products with different flavor are more attractive to the youth

21. Labelling the special flavor of the cigarettes

22. Conclusion  Chinese tobacco companies use kinds of ways to promote the products through packaging, most of the strategies are same as or similar to the western tobacco companies’.  There is a unique way of promotion by the Chinese tobacco companies: adding Chinese traditional medicine  These promoting ways are misleading or deceiving  China should adopting measures, say change into plain package ， to limit the ways of packaging promotion, so as to protect the heath of the people

23. We hope that one day, Chinese cigarette packs will be like this…

24. 24 ITC program funding source Core funding comes from the American National Cancer Institute (P01 CA138389) External funding’s from the Canadian Health Institute Research organizations of ITC program