Most British children now regard cigarettes as unappealing, and smoking as unacceptable, just four years after the government's tobacco display ban came into force.
The UK's ban on the open display of tobacco products at the point-of-sale was phased in between 2012 and 2015, starting with large stores and supermarkets and ending up with smaller shops.
The idea was that, by covering up displays, tobacco would be denormalised, and young people would be less tempted to take up smoking.
And it seems to have worked - according to a new study by the University of Stirling, the risk of 11 to 16-year-olds taking up smoking has reduced following the introduction of the ban.
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Researchers canvassed the views of 3,791 young people – including 2,953 who had never smoked – across the UK at three time points:
- In 2011, prior to the implementation of the ban;
- In 2014, when the ban had been partially implemented;
- And in 2016, following full implementation.
At each stage, participants were asked whether they noticed cigarettes displayed at point-of-sale; about their awareness of cigarette brands; and about their smoking susceptibility – established by the absence of a firm decision not to smoke.
Smoking susceptibility among participants who had never smoked decreased from 28% pre-ban to 23% mid-ban, and 18% post-ban, according to the research.
Noticing cigarettes at point-of-sale decreased from 81% pre-ban, to 28% post-ban.
Cigarette brand awareness also reduced, with the average number of cigarette brands recalled declining from 0.97 pre-ban to 0.69 post-ban.
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Lead author Dr Allison Ford, from Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing, said the research confirms that placing tobacco out of sight helps safeguard young people.
"Prior to the display ban, we found that young never smokers who noticed cigarettes displayed at point-of-sale, and those who were aware of more cigarette brands, were more likely to indicate being susceptible to smoking," she said.
"Both partial and full implementation of the display ban were followed by statistically significant reductions in youth smoking susceptibility and noticing cigarettes at point-of-sale."
The research also found that support for a display ban among people who had never smoked was very high.
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“For example, post-ban, 90% of never smokers aged 11 to 16 years supported the display ban, while 77% indicated that it made cigarettes seem unappealing, and 87% that it made smoking seem unacceptable," she said.
The findings were welcomed by Cancer Research UK, which funded the research.
"Glitzy displays and glamorous packaging helped the tobacco industry to lure the next generation of smokers into taking up a deadly addiction," said Kruti Shrotri, Cancer Research UK’s tobacco control manager.
"But contrary to Big Tobacco's belief that banning displays would make no difference this study shows that by putting cigarettes out of sight and out of mind far fewer youngsters are taking up the deathly habit."
The study has been published in the British Medical Journal's Tobacco Control .
