INTRODUCTION:
Social Marketing helps to creates social awareness among the consumers. Social marketing is methodical and orderly application of marketing tools, ideas and techniques in order to promote activities and messages which could play a role for the betterment of the society. Smoking has been very serious and major issue in developed nations. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco consumption is major disease which is widely spreading in developing countries and resulted cause for death. Smoking has been cause of various diseases such as lung cancer, mouth cancer and others (Tim Mcafee). Excessive consumption of tobacco causes pre-mature death. According to World Health Organisation, death rates due to tobacco consumption have increased from 5.4million in 2004 to 100millions in 20th century.[i] The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was developed by WTO which aims to reduce tobacco consumption and protect the present and future generations from its disastrous and harmful effects on health.[ii] The various organisations and researchers plans to undertake an initiative in order to spread awareness about diseases caused by smoking and thus promote to people to stop it. Large numbers of researches have been conducted previously to make people aware about effects on excessive smoking on health. A warning on packs of cigarette helps to educate the smokers and non-smoking class to reduce and avoid tobacco consumption. The aim of the research is to highlight is usefulness and effectiveness of visual warnings, textual headings on cigarettes packs along with plain packaging and cessation support on consumers which acts as an innovative tool in field of social marketing. Packaging plays a significant part in social visibility of a product in shops.[iii] Packaging helps to convey brand image of the product. According to Phillip Morris, “Final communication medium with smokers is the pack of cigarette itself. In the absence of any other marketing messages, our packaging, is the sole communicator of our brand essence. Put another way – when you don’t have anything else - our packaging is our marketing.”[iv] Packaging influences smokers to purchase the product. In the same it also helps to reduce its consumption if there are visual indications on the pack about its harmful effects on health. Health warnings on tobacco packs help to educate smokers and non-smokers about its consequences. This research will help to understand and educate smokers as well as non smoking group to reduce intake of tobacco as it has a bad effects on health through plain packaging, visuals cessation and support.
[i] “WHO global burden of disease report.2008”.
“WHO report on the global tobacco Epidemic, 2008”.
[iii] Pollay RW. The role of packaging seen through industry documents. Mar 2001. Expert report prepared for: JTI-Macdonald., Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd and
Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. v. Attorney General of Canada and Canadian Cancer Society (intervenor). Supreme Court, Province of Quebec, District of
Montreal. Defense Exhibit D-116.
[iv] Hulit M. Marketing issues corporate affairs conference May 27, 1994—Manila. 27 May 1994. Philip Morris. Bates No. 2504015017/5042
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