Analysis of roll-your-own tobacco pack design and warning compliance in Argentina

Abstract

[ABSTRACT]: INTRODUCTION: Packaging is a key marketing tool for tobacco companies and an important means of communicating product-related risks to governments. While research has explored promotional characteristics of cigarette packs and compliance with warnings on cigarette packs, studies on roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco packaging are limited. METHODS: We purchased a convenience sample of unique RYO packs (n=116) between November 2022 and May 2024 in five cities in Argentina, where RYO tobacco has increased in popularity. We developed a checklist to examine the presence of pack design features and compliance with on-pack warnings and conducted a descriptive analysis. RESULTS: The sample included 50 brands. Most packs were pouches (94.0%) and contained 30 g of tobacco (74.1%). About half (51.7%) were flavoured, most commonly fruit (43.3%), vanilla (21.7%) and chocolate (15.0%). Unflavoured packs frequently featured 'natural' or 'additive-free' descriptors (51.8%) and light colours (48.2%), while flavoured packs predominantly used flavour descriptors (88.3%) and bright colours (86.7%). Nearly half the packs (46.6%) were locally produced, with 48.1% highlighting their Argentinian origin. In terms of warning compliance, 47.4% of packs failed to display a warning image covering 50% of the front of the pack. The warning image (90.5%) and message (81.9%) were frequently obscured by a tax stamp. CONCLUSIONS: The findings help understand how tobacco companies promote RYO via the packaging. Additionally, this exploratory study could serve as a template for other studies on RYO tobacco.