10.7 Trends in products and packaging
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Whether retaining old customers or appealing to new ones, addressing public concerns about tobacco or manoeuvring to avoid or accommodate regulation, it is vital for the tobacco industry's survival to take a flexible and innovative approach to developments in product and packaging. This section takes a look at some recent developments observed in the Australian and international marketplace.
10.7.1 Flavoured cigarettes
It has long been industry practice to add ingredients to alter the flavour of tobacco. For example menthol variants of many brands have been available for decades, menthol additives improving the palatability of inhaled smoke by providing sensations of coolness and smoothness.45 Flavourings have also been used to compensate for variations in quality of tobacco leaf,46 and for perceived loss of body and flavour in lower tar cigarettes.47 Flavourings mask unpleasant tastes and sensations associated with smoking cigarettes, making them of greater appeal to novice users.48 Flavours may be added to the tobacco itself or to the paper cigarette tube, and patents have been awarded that incorporate flavourings into the filter of the cigarette, as well as the packaging in order to impart a pleasant smell.49 A variety of smokeless tobacco products, cigars and cigarette rolling papers have been augmented with novelty flavourings.49
In the USA a staggering range of flavourings has been introduced, including fruit (for example orange, mandarin, lime, cherry, coconut, strawberry, apple), confectionery (toffee, truffle, vanilla, chocolate, honey, fudge, marshmallow), spices (cinnamon, mint, spearmint, wintergreen, coffee, herbs) and flavours reminiscent of cocktails or liquors (for example margarita, amaretto, rum, cognac, bourbon). The products are stylishly packaged49 and the cigarettes themselves may also be coloured, patterned and decoratively filter tipped.50, 51 Flavoured varieties have also been made available on a seasonal or themed basis.51 No Australian tobacco company has promoted products on the basis of novelty flavouring, but a small number of flavoured brands have been imported. DJ Mix Special Feel, available in flavours that include orange, strawberry and iced green apple flavour, and Peel, in menthol orange, and sweet melon flavour, are imported from Hong Kong. Chocolate-flavoured Black Devil and vanilla Pink Elephants are imported from the Netherlands.52
Studies on the popularity of mainstream flavoured brands in the USA (such as those produced by the major tobacco companies RJ Reynolds and Brown & Williamson) have shown that they are used primarily by younger people.51 The recent proliferation of flavoured brands has been attributed to the tobacco industry's need to attract new smokers in an increasingly challenging regulatory environment.49, 51
The sale of flavoured tobacco products is banned outright in South Australia, NSW and Tasmania and their display (but not sale) has been banned in Western Australia. On 23 May 2008, the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy announced the intention for all states and territories to enact legislation prohibiting the sale of fruit and confectionery flavoured cigarettes within their jurisdictions by December 2009. The same announcement stated that the Australian Government had agreed to investigate the feasibility of a ban on importation of these products.53
10.7.2 Shorter or wider cigarettes
Limited opportunities to smoke due to the introduction of smoking restrictions in many environments has prompted the development of a shorter cigarette that allows quicker smoking (seven puffs instead of the more usual 10) while still aiming to deliver a satisfying dose of nicotine. One company to cater for this market is Philip Morris, with Marlboro Intense, which has been launched in Turkey.6
Philip Morris has also developed Marlboro Wides, a thicker but shorter than usual cigarette that is packaged in a box with a flip top opening from side to side instead of front to back.6
10.7.3 Smokeless tobacco and 'snus'
As its name states, smokeless tobacco does not generate smoke, which makes it attractive to tobacco users who wish to access nicotine without breaching smoking restrictions. It is also promoted to the youth market, and to women in societies where overt smoking is not socially acceptable.54 In Australia, sales and marketing of smokeless tobacco are banned,[11]55 but the international market for smokeless tobacco continues to expand.54 The health consequences of oral tobacco use are discussed in Chapter 3, Section 3.33.
A particular type of smokeless tobacco product known as 'snus' is widely used in Scandanavia. Although addictive, snus is less harmful than other forms of tobacco use, and it may also be useful as an aid in cessation.56 Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds are promoting snus-style smokeless tobacco products in test markets in the USA.57 BAT are promoting their own snus brands in South Africa, Japan and Canada.8
Whether snus may have a wider role in reducing harm caused by smoking is a matter of vigorous debate.58-62 For discussion, see Chapter 12. The health consequences of using snus are discussed in Chapter 3, Section 33.
In the USA, a company called Star Scientific63 has developed another variation on traditional oral tobacco products.64 Ariva is presented in the form of a compressed capsule of tobacco designed to dissolve in the mouth, thereby eliminating the need for spitting or disposing of the spent product. Ariva is intended for 'adult smokers who increasingly find themselves in situations where they can't smoke—for example, mothers who choose not to expose their children to second-hand smoke, travellers who fly on long plane trips, or restaurant patrons...'.64
10.7.4 Countering second-hand smoke
A range of products claiming to mask, reduce or eliminate second-hand smoke has been developed since the rise in concern about environmental tobacco smoke during the 1980s. (Some of these products have also claimed to offer health benefits to the user – see Section 10.7.5).
Lemon and vanilla-scented cigarettes were test marketed in the USA and Germany in the late 1980s, the fragrant smoke intended 'to overcome most of the objections non-smokers have about the smell of burning tobacco.' 65 In 1992, Philip Morris investigated marketing a new 'reduced odour' cigarette, declaring that the long-term goal of its research and development activities was to develop a completely odourless cigarette.66
RJ Reynolds (RJR) experimented in the USA in the mid-1990s with Salem Preferred67 that was claimed to mask and change the odour of cigarette smoke (while not actually reducing its quantity68). A variation on this, Salem Pianissimo, was launched by RJR in Japan in 1995, claiming to be 'the clean cigarette,' offering 'less lingering smell' and 'less sidestream smoke.' Following the success of Salem Pianissimo, RJR launched four more brands in Japan that claimed similar attributes, announcing that 'these cigarettes were designed to encourage peaceful coexistence among smokers and non-smokers...'. Since then, other manufacturers have also launched 'cleaner' cigarettes.68
Entirely new ways of consuming tobacco have also been devised with the intention of reducing sidestream smoke. RJR tested Premier in the USA briefly in 1989.69 Premier, which delivered nicotine to the user by heating rather than burning the tobacco, was withdrawn soon after not only because smokers disliked the flavour, but, ironically, because it had an unpleasant and pervasive aroma which tended to spread well beyond the smoker.65 RJR has since launched another non-combustion, low emission product, Eclipse (see Section 10.7.5 below). Philip Morris has developed a product called the Heatbar, a battery-powered plastic device which heats rather than burns tobacco. Inhaling the warmed tobacco delivers a flavoured aerosol to the user, while producing 90% less sidestream smoke than a normal cigarette. The Heatbar has undergone limited market testing in Switzerland and Australia6 but does not appear to have impressed younger smokers.70 In the USA, Ruyan America has developed an alternative nicotine delivery electronic cigarette called the V-8 E-cigarette, which simulates smoking without creating sidestream smoke.71
How popular these latest innovations will be with consumers remains to be seen.
10.7.5 Potentially reduced exposure products
Industry efforts to produce a 'safer' cigarette go back many decades. While publicly maintaining that their products did not cause disease or death among their users, the tobacco companies experimented with various forms of filters, ventilation systems, and modifications to the tobacco leaf itself in an effort to reduce harmful emissions from tobacco smoke.[12] Of these, products claiming to deliver lower levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide were the major focus from the 1970s onwards, even though the tobacco companies were well aware that these product modifications delivered little or no real health benefits to smokers75-78 Cigarettes promoted as being 'light', 'ultra light' and 'mild' came to dominate the market during the 1980s and 1990s, descriptors now banned in Australia (see Chapter 12 for detailed discussion). It is now a matter of record that 'smoking cigarettes with lower machine-measured yields of tar and nicotine provides no clear benefit to health.'79 p25
Other modifications to the standard cigarette designed to reduce the smokers' exposure to the harmful contents of cigarette smoke have since been developed. These 'potentially reduced exposure products' (PREPs) are generally claimed to emit reduced levels of nicotine or carcinogens due to the use of additives, different techniques in leaf blending and processing, using genetically-modified leaf, or by the application of new filtration methods.80 In the USA, several products of this nature have been introduced with varying degrees of success. Some examples include Liggett-Vector's Quest,81 Brown & Williamson's Advance Lights,82 and Philip Morris's Marlboro Filter Plus.6 Several PREPs have been discontinued, presumably due to low sales. These include Liggett-Vector's OMNI,83 Philip Morris's Next and Brown & Williamson's Advance.82
New concepts in PREPs have also been developed that deliver nicotine by heating of the tobacco instead of burning it. Examples of these are RJR's Eclipse and Philip Morris's Accord, which have the appearance of conventional cigarettes but which claim to deliver lower levels of toxins to the smoker, as well as reduced second-hand smoke.69, 77 A range of tobacco-free products which resemble cigarettes, cigars and pipes have also been introduced. These battery-powered electronic devices deliver doses of nicotine in an aerosol to the user in a range of flavours, including fruit, ginseng, coffee, mint and chocolate. Promotional material for these electronic devices claims that they are less hazardous to health.84-87 In Australia, at least one of these devices is being advertised and sold over the internet and through selected retail outlets. The product, Egar, positions itself as a cheaper and healthier alternative to smoking as well as an effective way of sidestepping bans on smoking in offices, restaurants and other public places.85
Consumer acceptance of PREPs appears not to have been widespread at this stage. A study on consumer responses to several of the products available in the USA during 2002 found that most smokers did not find them to be either a satisfying substitute for traditional cigarettes, or of assistance in quitting smoking.82 However investment in PREPS is substantial by some tobacco companies. According to industry analysts JP Morgan, US$3 billion was invested in research and development of PREPs between 1999–2004, and the PREP market in the USA could be worth an estimated US$20 billion by 2015.88 Of the major tobacco companies operating in Australia, BAT and PMI state that they are committed to research and development of safer cigarettes.5, 8
The implications of PREP use are of considerable concern to health interests. There is evidence that consumers may overestimate the possible risk reduction associated with using PREPs.77 This and other research raises concerns that PREPs might attract (and addict) new users, discourage quitting, result in rebound usage of standard cigarettes at a level even higher than before, or induce successful quitters to return to what they perceive to be a safe form of tobacco use.77, 82 By leading consumers to believe that they are safer, PREPs could also reassure young smokers that there is no need to quit, since there are apparently safer alternatives to switch to in the future.80
Whether PREPs actually deliver the health benefits claimed by their manufacturers is not known. The US Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences has examined the current scientific knowledge about PREPs, concluding that they 'have not yet been evaluated comprehensively enough (including for a sufficient time) to provide a scientific basis for concluding that they are associated with a reduced risk of disease compared to conventional tobacco use.'89 p 232 The World Health Organization has concluded that 'Demonstration of reductions in smoke emissions or reduced uptake of toxicants alone is not sufficient to support claims or implications of reduced toxicity or harm.'80 p 9 Comprehensive, rigorous independent testing of PREPs is clearly required.80, 89, 90 Even if PREPs are ultimately proven to be less toxic to users, their contribution to uptake and persistent use in place of quitting could result in increased harm due to tobacco use overall.77
10.7.6 'Roll-your-own' and 'make-your-own' cigarettes
The decision to use roll-your-own or make-your-own cigarettes is generally made by consumers seeking a more economical way of smoking. Roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes comprise loose tobacco manually rolled up by the user into a cigarette paper and sealed shut with saliva, with or without the addition of a filter. Make-your-own (MYO) cigarette kits provide the user with loose tobacco, pre-fabricated paper cigarette cylinders and filters that produce an end product much like manufactured cigarettes in appearance.
In Australia the growing market for RYO has lead to several innovations. Slimmer filters allow a packet of tobacco to last longer, by making more, smaller cigarettes. Loose tobaccos closer in characteristics to the tobacco used in ready-made cigarettes have been produced to accommodate smokers switching from factory-made cigarettes to RYOs. Smaller pouch sizes accommodate price conscious smokers.43 Packaging has been redesigned and updated to attract attention, and popular cigarette brands such as Peter Jackson and Longbeach have been launched in an RYO variant. The availability of different styles and sizes of cigarette papers and filters has been increased to encourage RYO smokers to express their personal style.91
Overseas, innovations have included smaller, cheaper cigarette papers,57 and techniques to expand the tobacco have allowed the smoker to make more cigarettes with the same weight of tobacco.92 In Germany, Philip Morris has marketed its 'tobacco block system' (TBS), in which tobacco is sold in compressed blocks. A special machine is used that inserts tobacco from the block into a ready-made cigarette cylinder. The TBS has been introduced as a way of exploiting the tax differential between RYO tobacco and manufactured cigarettes.6
10.7.7 Organic, 'green,' and additive free cigarettes
In recent years a variety of 'green' attributes have been claimed for particular tobacco products, responding to growing consumer awareness of environmental concerns. With no hint of irony, these include references to purity, naturalness and the lack of additives, as well as claims for the farming practices employed in the production of the leaf—such as allusions to organic growing conditions, reforestation programs, use of renewable energy sources such as wind power93 and ethical sourcing from farmers.94 This trend has been especially marked in the USA,93 where consumer concerns have lead to the marketing of organic, '100% additive free natural' brands such as American Spirit95 and 1st-Nation.94
There is also evidence that these types of descriptors tend to offer the consumer reassurance, since 'natural' commonly connotes beneficial attributes.93 Although some manufacturers are careful not to claim health attributes for their products,95 it is significant that US tobacco companies have sought to retain the right to use the descriptor 'natural' on their cigarettes sold outside the USA.93
At the time of writing no brands of Australian manufacture claim to be organic or additive free, although at least two imported brands, American Spirit44 and Manatu11 are available, as well as a small range of herbal cigarettes.
10.7.8 Packaging trends
Restrictions on tobacco advertising in Australia and other countries have made product packaging an increasingly important vehicle for brand identity and positioning.96-98 In Australia, Winfield cigarette packs directly allude to their former advertising campaigns by carrying inside the flip top '....anyhow have a Winfield', the slogan made famous by actor Paul Hogan in advertisements outlawed in the 1980s.99
New trends in pack design include limited edition designer packages,[13] cigarette packs that emulate sleek mobile telephone design,6 and splittable packs that become two smaller packs, similar in dimensions to an 'iPod.'100
For further information on packaging trends in Australia, see Chapter 11, Section 11.6.3.1.
10.7.9 Reduced fire risk cigarettes
Lit cigarettes are a leading cause of fires and death and injury due to fires.101 In Australia, smoking is conservatively estimated to be the direct cause of at least 4574 fires annually;102 and almost one in every four deaths due to fire is attributable to fires caused by smoking103(see also Chaper 3, Section 3.19). The role of smoking-related materials in causing fires has lead to the introduction of 'reduced fire risk' (RFR) cigarettes, otherwise known as 'reduced ignition propensity' (RIP) cigarettes, in Canada and in most states of the USA.104
RFR cigarettes self extinguish when not being actively smoked.102, 105 Other methods of smoking (such as pipes, cigars and hand-rolled cigarettes) have always required active inhalation from the smoker to keep the tobacco burning.106 Ordinary cigarettes remain alight because of the addition of 'burn accelerants.' These additives keep the cigarette burning at a constant rate and help hold the burning tip and ash together.107
The tobacco manufacturers have long had the technology to produce cigarettes with reduced fire risk.108, 109
The most commonly used method involves making alterations to the paper in which the cigarette is wrapped.110 The addition of two or three thin bands of less porous paper works as 'speed bumps'—when the tip of the cigarette burns down to one of the bands, the change in the paper restricts oxygen supply to the burning tobacco and makes the cigarette go out. Other ways of reducing ignition propensity include using expanded tobacco, adjusting the size of the cigarette, or making other changes to wrapping papers.106, 110 However RFR technology is not effective in all cases. Tests on cigarettes for sale in the state of New York, where RFR regulations came into force 2004, have shown that about one in 10 RFR cigarettes still burned for its full length.110 It is therefore important not to regard or promote RFR cigarettes as completely 'fire-safe'—but they are less likely to cause a fire than other cigarettes.
As noted above, RFR requirements have now been mandated or are filed for legislation in most states of the USA, and throughout Canada as well.104 In November 2007, member states of the European Union voted to begin the process of regulating for RFR cigarettes, and the government of the UK has made a separate announcement that it intends to introduce regulations independently and to a more rapid timetable.111
In March 2007, Standards Australia, recognised by Australian governments as Australia's peak standards body,[14] finalised a standard for testing RFR cigarettes. The Determination of the extinction propensity of cigarettes (Standard AS4830-2007) was developed in collaboration with the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service, the CSIRO, the three tobacco companies operating in Australia, and other stakeholders. The standard tests the likelihood of combustion if a burning cigarette is placed in contact with material similar to that of household furniture. 112
In June 2008 the Product Safety Policy Section of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a regulation impact statement considering workable options for introducing RFR regulation in Australia under the auspices of the Trade Practices Act 1974.107 In the interests of protection of consumers and simplifying compliance, the ACCC has recommended 'establishing explicit government regulation by declaring a mandatory minimum standard for RFR cigarettes.'107 p 15 In March 2008, the Australian government announced its support for these recommendations, signalling that they could be implemented by early 2009.[15]
The tobacco industry has a history of opposing the introduction of RFR cigarettes. See Section 10.21.2.2.
10.7.10 Specialty products
In the USA, restricted opportunities to smoke have led to increased emphasis on specialty products designed to enhance the experience. While some people may be smoking less, they are tending to smoke more selectively.57, 113 This has boosted the premium end of the market. Top of the range cigarettes may be hand finished, using special papers and filters, and presented in luxury tins or boxes. Holographic cigarette papers that 'provide a scintillating light show' have been adopted by one manufacturer.113 The demographic groups likely to be attracted to these premium products are typified as the young, more affluent, adventurous, sophisticated, better informed and sociable smoker; or secondly as established smokers who are cutting back on tobacco use but treating themselves to quality products.113
As part of this trend, cigar use has also increased in popularity, and the market has expanded to accommodate a broader range of sizes, styles and flavourings.57 Smaller cigars are intended to appeal to 'time-poor' smokers. Sweeter and more aromatic tobaccos that enhance flavour and improve the smell of second-hand smoke are making cigars more appealing to female users.43
According to an industry report, cigars are popular across all social and cultural boundaries.11 Not to have cigars on display 'is like taking Mars Bars off the confectionery shelf,' according to a manager at Swedish Match, an importer of cigars into Australia.11
Other niche products include 'green', 'organic' and 'fair-trade' cigarettes—see Sections 10.7.7–10.15.2.
10.7.11 Accessories
Accessories and gimmicks used in support of tobacco use are an important means by which tobacco companies can keep their products and brands interesting to the consumer. Items such as cigarette cases, cigar cutters, humidors (for cigar storage), crystals (intended to keep cigars fresh), glass pipes, hookahs, cigarette lighters and odour neutralisers in the form of candles and incense are all trends in the USA. According to a North American tobacco accessories distributor, 'It's like the fashion business. It's very difficult to predict. That's why you have to keep refreshing your assortment.'114
In the USA, the BIC Corporation has produced collectable lighters that feature classic cars, tattoos, astrology and motor racing. Consumers are given the chance to participate in selection of new designs by accessing the BIC Lighter's consumer website. In another innovation, one lighter brand has provided a code that becomes visible as the butane level in the lighter drops. Prizes may be won by entering this code into the company's website.57
[11]Although individuals may legally import small quantities for personal use. See Chapter 3, Section 3.33 for discussion.
[12] From the 1970s onwards, tobacco companies patented many inventions to lower the quantities of toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke, but they were not adopted at the time. To incorporate them in to standard cigarette design and promote a 'safer cigarette' would be tantamount to admitting that tobacco use was dangerous, something which no tobacco company openly declared before 1999. There is no proof that any of these inventions would have produced a 'safer' cigarette. For further information about changes to cigarette design and technology, refer to The US Surgeon General's Report for 1981, The Changing Cigarette,72 and more recent articles such as those by Baker73 and Boyd.74
[13] Such as the limited edition Dunhill My Mixture range launched in an 'innovative 20s spring-box format' during late 2007.33 p 6-7
[15] See http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/26/2199878.htm
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