How do you spot a fake pack of cigarettes?

An advert appeared in a London evening paper yesterday (October 31) depicting the outline of two blank cigarette cartons except for a black box where health warnings would normally appear.

 

Instead of a "Smoking kills" type message, the cartons read "Standardised".

 

Below the graphic, Japan Tobacco International. (JTI), the company behind the advert, asked: "How do you spot a fake pack of cigarettes?"

 

This is a question that has, and continues to, trouble the tobacco industry and those that supply and support it.

 

This includes the packaging market, from the printers and converters of the cartons themselves to the suppliers of wrappers and collation films.

 

The matter was addressed by the ECMA tobacco forum at the association's recent congress, where forum chairman Jerzy Czubak said there is an issue of education within the corridors of power in the European parliament.

 

Many of those asking for, leading and instigating changes to laws that could see European tobacco packaging follow the model being brought in in Australia are of the impression that images of diseased lungs, hearts, eyes (pictured, top) and other organs are protection enough against counterfeiting as they are detailed graphics.

 

They are said to often be surprised to discover that these images, in printing terms at least, are some of the easiest to replicate.

 

Rather it is the use of holograms, foils and other anti-counterfeiting methods that help stem the flow of fake cigarettes into well-policed markets.

 

The ECMA tobacco forum called on all stakeholders to speak to their local and European politicians to try and educate decision makers on the unforeseen consequences of noble causes, which is an accurate way of describing the anticipated growth in the availability of fake cigarettes resulting from standardized packaging being used as a tool to help reduce the appeal of smoking, and the resulting smoking-related illnesses.  

 

Czubak also said jobs would be lost and the EU budget would take a hit due to a drop in trade.

 

The JTI ad made a similar plea to the UK's Department of Health, albeit through a public forum, with claims that nearly 20 percent of independent shopkeepers in London are considering closure as a direct result of the illegal tobacco trade, while the tax office will take a hit as more than 23 percent of cigarettes smoked in the capital have not had UK taxes paid on them.

 

The ad concludes with the line: "Plain packs don't make common sense."

 

As a former smoker, I understand that smoking can be a “Marmite” topic, in that you either love it or hate it. However, it’s important that the whole package printing market takes up the challenge of ensuring the risks of enforcing standardized tobacco packaging are understood, and that a balanced decision is reached when looking at ways to bring about a healthier society for all.

 

In the latest issue of Package Print Worldwide, US-based designer Erik Askin has detailed a concept for inefficient packaging design as a way to address topics that affect wider society such as smoking.