The deluge of evidence used by global tobacco companies to try to block the replacement of glitzy, glamorous tobacco packaging with standard designs, was either low quality or off topic, according to a Cancer Research UK-funded analysis published in BMJ Open.

An independent review followed by a four-month public consultation concluded there is strong evidence that standard packaging would reduce the appeal of tobacco products and increase the power of health warnings.

As part of the consultation, four global tobacco companies cited 77 pieces of evidence to claim that standard packaging would not work. But researchers from the University of Bath and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies showed that, of the 77 pieces cited, only 17 addressed the impact of standard packs on smoking.

None of the 17 were published in a peer-reviewed journal and 14 of the 17 (82 per cent) were either commissioned by or linked to the tobacco industry. This link was not clearly stated in most companies’ consultation submissions.

This study raises concerns about the impact of the Government’s consultation process on tobacco policy making because there is no requirement to declare conflicts of interest between respondents and the evidence they cite.

This lack of transparency may undermine the UK’s commitment to protect tobacco control policy from industry influence, agreed by the world’s first public health treaty - the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Regulations could be in place before the next election to roll out standard packs, following a final evidence review chaired by Sir Cyril Chantler to be published in March 2014.

Study author Professor Anna Gilmore, expert in tobacco control at the University of Bath and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, said: “Historically, the tobacco industry manufactured evidence to cast doubts on the health impacts and addictiveness of its products.  Now it is manufacturing evidence on the impacts of policies that could threaten its profits. 

“By paying for evidence which created doubts about the impact of standardised tobacco packaging the industry successfully delayed the policy.

“As a result, between July 2013, when the government put plain packaging on hold, and March 2014, when the Chantler review will be completed, an additional 148,554 children (4951 classrooms full) will have started smoking.”

Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK’s head of tobacco policy, said: “Once again, the tobacco industry has played fast and loose with the evidence to put its profits before the nation’s health.

“This report proves that we need more transparency about sources of evidence to stop the tobacco industry from using its vast resources to influence policy making. During the final evidence review it’s critical that the Government sees past the industry’s misdirection, and only considers high quality evidence.”

Source: University of Bath