The importance of the belief that “light” cigarettes are smoother in misperceptions of the harmfulness of “light” cigarettes in the Republic of Korea: a nationally representative cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundA number of countries have banned misleading cigarette descriptors such as “light” and “low-tar” as called for by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. These laws, however, do not address the underlying cigarette design elements that contribute to misperceptions about harm. This is the first study to examine beliefs about “light” cigarettes among Korean smokers, and the first to identify factors related to cigarette design that are associated with the belief that “light” cigarettes are less harmful.MethodsWe analysed data from Wave 3 of the ITC Korea Survey, a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,753 adult smokers, conducted October – December 2010. A multinomial logistic regression was used to examine which factors were associated with the belief that “light” cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes.ResultsOne quarter (25.0 %) of smokers believed that “light” cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, 25.8 % believed that smokers of “light” brands take in less tar, and 15.5 % held both of these beliefs. By far the strongest predictor of the erroneous belief that “light” cigarettes are less harmful was the belief that “light” cigarettes are smoother on the throat and chest (p < 0.001, OR = 44.8, 95 % CI 23.6–84.9).ConclusionsThe strong association between the belief that “light” cigarettes are smoother on the throat and chest and the belief that “light” cigarettes are less harmful, which is consistent with previous research, provides further evidence of the need to not only ban “light” descriptors, but also prohibit cigarette design and packaging features that contribute to the perception of smoothness.

Evaluation of Smoking Prevalence, Secondhand Smoke Exposure, Attitudes of Tobacco Control, and Smoking Cessation Knowledge among Pharmacy and Medical Students in a Private University, Malaysia

“…Nonmisleading packing and advertising of cigarette are essential in lowering the misunderstanding that certain cigarettes are not as dangerous as ordinary cigarettes. [ 42 ]…”

Relation between Smoking Habits and Self-Rated Health of Older Persons in the Philippines: Evidence-Based Tobacco Policy Advocacy

“…Green researched Korean tobacco smoker's belief that light cigarettes were less harmful for their health than regular ones (Green, 2015). Buonanno investigated the influence of the smoking ban on tobacco use reduction in Italy (Buonanno, 2013).…”

Reduced nicotine content cigarette advertising: How false beliefs and subjective ratings affect smoking behavior

“…These findings are novel because they experimentally demonstrate how sensory perceptions interact with beliefs to influence behavior. Cross-sectional studies (Elton-Marshall et al, 2015; Green et al, 2015; Mutti et al, 2011; O’Connor et al, 2013) indicate that sensory perceptions of a “weaker/lighter” taste reinforce smokers’ beliefs about “light” cigarettes and PREPs; we thus expected false beliefs and consumption to be positively associated among smokers providing lower strength and taste ratings. Instead these associations occurred among smokers who provided greater ratings, and were inverse or nonexistent among smokers providing lower ratings.…”

“…For example, in addition to their misleading marketing, “light” cigarettes contained filter-ventilation that produced sensory perceptions of a “lighter” or “smoother” taste (Kozlowski and O’Connor, 2002; O’Connor et al, 2013), reinforcing smokers’ false beliefs about lower harm (Elton-Marshall et al, 2015; Green et al, 2015; Mutti et al, 2011). While smokers generally provide negative subjective ratings of RNC cigarettes (Benowitz et al, 2007, 2012; Mercincavage et al, 2016; Strasser et al, 2007), implying lower use likelihood, few studies have associated these ratings with subsequent smoking behaviors.…”