Did independent and convenience (small) retailers comply with standardised tobacco packaging in the UK?

Abstract

First paragraph: The United Kingdom (UK) Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 require cigarettes (factory-made and rolling tobacco) to be sold in standardised packs with a drab brown colour and pictorial health warnings covering at least 65% of the principal display areas [1]. Tobacco companies and retailers were given from 20th May 2016 to 20th May 2017 to comply with the legislation. Research from Australia, the first country to introduce standardised packaging, has explored several factors which may mitigate the impact of this measure, including illicit tobacco use [2], pricing [3], and product development [4,5]. No studies, however, have measured compliance among retailers. Given the value of such research in gauging the effectiveness of retailer-related tobacco policy [6], we examined independent and convenience (small) retailer compliance with standardised packaging legislation in the UK. Small retailers are an important group for investigation as reportedly half of their consumers purchase tobacco and over two-thirds consider tobacco necessary to maintain footfall [7].