Flavour additives and design lettering in cigarettes and tobacco products available close to educational centers in Montevideo, Uruguay
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29193/RMU.37.2.5Keywords:
TOBACCO USE DISORDER, CIGARETTES, FLAVORINGS, ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR, ADVERTISING, PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION, TOBACCO PRODUCTSAbstract
Introduction: tobacco products are designed to be attractive, and recently, flavour additives have been introduced in the market. In Uruguay, regulations in force prohibit all forms of publicity for these products. For this reason, attracting consumers to tobacco products by means of flavour and design constitutes an important factor in smokers’ choice, in particular the young. Learning about products available in our market and those that are close to educational centers is relevant.
Method: descriptive, observational, prospective and transversal study. The field work protocol was adapted from the Johns Hopkins University Tobacco Pack Surveillance System Project.
Results: 23 varieties were identified. 34.78% of the products were flavoured, and they were available in 86,67% points of sale. All flavoured products’ packs included a reference to its condition. In 50% of them, the brand suggested the presence or activation of flavour. 87.5% of filters referred to flavor activation and 37.5% added technological traits. 75% were mint flavoured and 24% were double-flavoured. Only 39.1% included minor protection information.
Conclusions: there is great availability of flavoured tobacco products, the variety being greater in recent years, although lower in Uruguay if compared to other countries. In the absence of specific regulations on additives and flavouring substances, countries could reduce the offer by implementing a single presentation by brand and the complete banning of publicity.
References
2) Eriksen M, Mackay J, Schluger N, Islami F, Drope J. The tobacco atlas. 5th ed. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2015.
3) Uruguay. Ministerio de Salud Pública. Programa de Prevención de Enfermedades no Transmisibles. Carga de enfermedad atribuible al tabaquismo. Montevideo: MSP, 2014.
4) Sandoya E, Bianco E. Mortalidad por tabaquismo y por humo de segunda mano en Uruguay. Rev Uruguaya Cardiol 2011; 26(3):201-6.
5) Uruguay. Ministerio de Salud Pública. Primera encuesta nacional de factores de riesgo de enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles. Montevideo: MSP, 2006.
6) Uruguay. Ministerio de Salud Pública. Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009.
7) Uruguay. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Encuesta continua de hogares. Montevideo: INE, 2014.
8) Abascal W, Esteves E, Goja B, González Mora F, Lorenzo A, Sica A, et al. Tobacco control campaign in Uruguay: a population-based trend analysis. Lancet 2012; 380(9853):1575-82.
9) Uruguay. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Encuesta continua de hogares. 2018. Montevideo: INE, 2018.
10) Uruguay. Ministerio de Salud Pública. Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2017.
11) Uruguay. Junta Nacional de Drogas. V Encuesta nacional sobre consumo de drogas en estudiantes de enseñanza media 2011. Montevideo: OUD-JND, 2011.
12) Uruguay. Junta Nacional de Drogas. VI Encuesta nacional sobre consumo de drogas en estudiantes ed enseñanza media, 2014. Montevideo: OUD-JND, 2014.
13) Uruguay. Junta Nacional de Drogas. VII Encuesta nacional sobre consumo de drogas en estudiantes de enseñanza media. Año 2016. Montevideo: OUD-JND, 2016.
14) World Health Organization. Framework convention on tobacco control. Geneva: WHO, 2004.
15) World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic: 2008: the MPOWER package. Geneva: WHO, 2008.
16) Fundación Interamericana del Corazón. Sabor que mata: las tabacaleras utilizan cigarrillos saborizados que atraen a los niños en kioscos de América Latina. Buenos Aires: FIC, 2017.
17) Instituto para el Control Mundial del Tabaco. Informe técnico sobre cigarrillos saborizados en el punto de venta en América Latina: Disponibilidad y comercialización alrededor de escuelas primarias y secundarias en cinco países. Baltimore, MD: Escuela Bloomberg de Salud Pública de la Universidad Johns Hopkins, 2017.
18) Manning KC, Kelly KJ, Comello ML. Flavoured cigarettes, sensation seeking and adolescents’ perceptions of cigarette brands. Tob Control 2009; 18(6):459-65.
19) Morris DS, Fiala SC. Flavoured, non-cigarette tobacco for sale in the USA: an inventory analysis of Internet retailers. Tob Control 2015; 24(1):101-2.
20) Thrasher JF, Abad-Vivero EN, Moodie C, O’Connor RJ, Hammond D, Michael Cummings K, et al. Cigarette brands with flavour capsules in the filter: trends in use and brand perceptions among smokers in the USA, Mexico and Australia, 2012-2014. Tob Control 2016; 25(3):275-83.
21) World Health Organization. Advisory note: banning menthol in tobacco products: WHO study group on Tobacco Product Regulation (?TobReg)?. Geneva: WHO, 2016.
22) Harris JE, Ares G, Gerstenblüth M, Machin L, Triunfo P. Impact of plain packaging of cigarettes on the risk perception of Uruguayan smokers: an experimental study. Tob Control 2017; 27(5):513-8.
23) Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária. Report of the working group on tobacco additives. Rio de Janeiro: ANVISA, 2014.
24) Wickham RJ. How menthol alters tobacco-smoking behavior: a biological perspective. Yale J Biol Med 2015; 88(3):279-87.
25) IMPO. Centro de Información Oficial. Normativa y Avisos Legales del Uruguay. Ley Nº 18.256. Protección del derecho al medio ambiente libre de humo de tabaco y su consumo. Montevideo, 6 de marzo de 2008.
26) Organización Mundial de la Salud. Empaquetado neutro de los productos de tabaco: pruebas empíricas, diseño y aplicación. Ginebra: OMS, 2017.
27) Scollo M, Occleston J, Bayly M, Lindorff K, Wakefield M. Tobacco product developments coinciding with the implementation of plain packaging in Australia. Tob Control 2015; 24(e1):e116-22.
28) Moodie C, Angus K, Mitchell D, Critchlow N. How tobacco companies in the United Kingdom prepared for, and responded to, standardised packaging of cigarettes and rolling tobacco. Tob Control 2018; 27(e1):e85-e92.
29) Institute for Global Tobacco Control. TPackSS: Tobacco Packaging Surveillance Study Pack Features and Appeals Coding Instruction Manual Codebook 2018. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2018.
30) Llambí C, Piñeyro L. Índice de nivel socioeconómico (INSE): revisión anual, 2012. Montevideo: CINVE, 2012. Disponible en: http://www.cinve. org.uy/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rev_INSE_nov2012_pdf. [Consulta: 14 junio 2019].
31) DeAtley T, Bianco E, Welding K, Cohen JE. Compliance with Uruguay’s single presentation requirement. Tob Control 2018; 27(2):220-4.
32) Uruguay. Ministerio de Salud Pública. Ordenanza Nº 514/008. 18 de agosto de 2008.
33) IMPO. Centro de Información Oficial. Normativa y Avisos Legales del Uruguay. Uruguay. Presidencia de la República. Decreto Nº 317/014. Reglamentación de Ley 18.256 de protección del derecho al medio ambiente libre de humo de tabaco y su consumo. Montevideo, 3 de noviembre de 2014.
34) Villanti AC, Richardson A, Vallone DM, Rath JM. Flavored tobacco product use among U.S. young adults. Am J Prev Med 2013; 44(4):388-91.
35) Hersey JC, Ng SW, Nonnemaker JM, Mowery P, Thomas KY, Vilsaint MC, et al. Are menthol cigarettes a starter product for youth? Nicotine Tob Res 2006; 8(3):403-13.
36) Smith KC, Washington C, Welding K, Kroart L, Osho A, Cohen JE. Cigarette stick as valuable communicative real estate: a content analysis of cigarettes from 14 low-income and middle-income countries. Tob Control 2017; 26(5):604-7.
37) Mutti S, Hammond D, Reid JL, White CM, Thrasher JF. Perceptions of branded and plain cigarette packaging among Mexican youth. Health Promot Int 2017; 32(4):650-9.
38) Borland R, Savvas S. Effects of stick design features on perceptions of characteristics of cigarettes. Tob Control 2013; 22(5):331-7.
39) Moodie C, MacKintosh AM, Thrasher JF, McNeill A, Hitchman S. Use of cigarettes with flavor-changing capsules among smokers in the United Kingdom: an online survey. Nicotine Tob Res 2018; 21(11):1547-55.