Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Industry Funded Research, Expert Opinion and Public Relations

In response to plain packaging proposals in the UK, the tobacco industry utilised the third party technique. It funded third party organisations which conducted anti-plain packaging campaigns on its behalf, built alliances with organisations that lobbied Government and mobilised public opposition, including and funding research, expert opinions and public relations (PR) activities which supported its position. This page provides details of individuals and organisations that were funded by one or more of the four big transnational tobacco companies to produce reports on salient issues, or conduct PR activities, around plain packaging.

Click on the hyperlinked organisations or individuals for more detailed information about them and their activities.

Tobacco Industry Commissioned Expert Reports

Organisation	Funder	Publication	Cited by
Bird and Bird LLP	PMI	Why plain packaging would violate the United Kingdom’s international obligations under trademark law, September 2011	PMI
Professor Martin Cave, London School of Economics	JTI	‘Better regulation’ and certain tobacco control measures, November 2010	JTI
Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)	PMI	Quantification of the economic impact of plain packaging for tobacco products in the UK, March 2013 Quantification of the economic impact of plain packaging for tobacco products in the UK – Addendum to the report for Philip Morris Ltd, August 2013	PMI
Professor Peggy Chaudhry, Villanova School of Business and Professor Alan Zimmerman, City University of New York	JTI	The Impact of Plain Packaging on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, June 2012	JTI
Compass Lexecon	PMI	Summary assessment of Plain Tobacco Packaging: a systematic review Annex 2, May 2012	PMI
Rupert Darwall	PMI	Selecting the evidence to fit the policy: An evaluation of the Department of Health’s consultation on standardised tobacco packaging, January 2013	PMI
Deloitte	BAT, IT, PMI	Alliance of Australian Retailers: Potential impact on retailers from the introduction of plain tobacco packaging, February 2011 Tobacco packaging regulation: An international assessment of the intended and unintended impacts, May 2011 Alliance of Australian Retailers Plain packaging and channel shift, June 2011
Professor Timothy Devinney, University of Technology, Sydney	JTI	Analysis of Consumer Research Evidence on the Impact of Plain Packaging for Tobacco Products, November 2010 Analysis of Consumer Research Evidence on the Impact of Plain Packaging for Tobacco Products (Updated to 2012), June 2012	JTI
Professor Ravi Dhar, Yale University and Professor Stephen Nowlis, Washington University	JTI	Report on the consumer behaviour and decision-making of cigarette smokers, December 2010	JTI
Professor Daniel Gervais, Vanderbilt University	JTI	Analysis of the compatibility of certain tobacco product packaging rules with the TRIPS Agreement and the Paris Convention, November 2010	JTI
Professor James Heckman, University of Chicago	PMI	Report of James J Heckman UK Plain Packaging Consultation Annex 4, August 2012	PMI
Lord Hoffman	PMI	Lord Hoffman Opinion, May 2012,	PMI
Keegan & Company LLC	JTI	Analysis of Consumer Survey Evidence Relevant to the UK Department of Health Consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control, September 2008 Analysis of consumer survey evidence relevant to the UK Department consultation on the future of tobacco control – Supplemental Report, June 2009 Analysis of Consumer Survey Evidence Relevant to DG SANCO’s Proposal to Increase the Size of Health Warnings on Tobacco Packaging, November 2010	JTI
Professor Jonathan Klick, University of Pennsylvania and Erasmus University	BAT	Report of Dr Jonathan Klick, June 2012	BAT
KPMG	PMI	Project Star 2012 Results, April 2013 Illicit tobacco in Australia – Half year report, October 2013 Illicit tobacco in Australia – 2013 full year report April 2014 Illicit tobacco in Australia – 2014 half year report, October 2014	PMI
Professor Alfred Kuss, University of Berlin	PMI	Comments concerning Annex 2 “Elicitation of subjective judgements of the impact of smoking of plain packaging policies for tobacco products” of the IA No. 3080 “Standardised packaging for tobacco products”, August 2012	PMI
Lalive	PMI	Why Plain Packaging is in Violation of WTO Members’ International Obligations under TRIPS and the Paris Convention, July 2009	PMI
LECG	PMI	A critical review of the literature on generic packaging for cigarettes, November 2008 The impact of plain packaging of cigarettes in Australia: A simulation exercise, February 2010 The impact of plain packaging of cigarettes in UK: a simulation exercise, November 2010	PMI
Dr Andrew Lilico, Europe Economics	JTI	Economic analysis of a display ban and/or a plain packs requirement in the UK, September 2008 Economic analysis of a plain packs requirement in the UK, June 2012	BAT, JTI
London Economics	PMI	The role of packaging imagery on consumer preferences for experience goods: A consumer behavioural experiment, January 2012 An analysis of smoking prevalence in Australia, Final, November 2013	PMI
Professor Richard Mizerski, University of Western Australia	PMI	Plain Cigarette Packaging as a Remedy to Reduce Smoking, June 2011	PMI
Will O’Reilly	PMI	Illicit tobacco trade research, 2011-2016
Populus	PMI	Cigarette packaging survey, July 2012 UK Plain Packaging Poll - Petrol Retail Association Members, November 2012 Law enforcement survey, May 2014	PMI
Povaddo	PMI	National Association of Retired Police Officers (NARPO) Survey, November 2012	PMI
Price Waterhouse Coopers	BAT	Illegal tobacco – counting the cost of Australia’s black market, February 2012	PMI
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants	PMI	The Tobacco Products Directive: Potential economic impact – potential effects of plain packaging, April 2013	PMI
Roy Morgan Research	PMI	Impact of Plain Packaging on Small Retailers: Final Report, January 2013 Impact of Plain Packaging on Small Retailers –Wave 2 Final Report, September 2013	PMI
SKIM Consumer Research	PMI	The impact of standardised packaging on the illicit trade in the UK, August 2012	PMI
Laurence Steinberg, Temple University Philadelphia	JTI	Adolescent decision making and the prevention of underage smoking, November 2010	JTI
Professor Ernesto Savona and Dr Francesco Calderoni at Transcrime	PMI	Plain packaging and illicit trade in the UK, May 2012	PMI, BAT
Visuality for Rural Shops Alliance	BAT	The effects of standardised tobacco packaging on retail service in the UK, September 2012	PMI

Commissioned Public Relations Activities

Organisation	Funder	Activity
Crosby Textor Group	PMI	Lynton Crosby wrote to the Minister for Intellectual Property on behalf of Philip Morris
DDC Advocacy	PMI	Setting up anti-standardised packaging political marketing website, know-more.co.uk, on behalf of Philip Morris
Goddard Global	BAT	Secretariat for The Common Sense Alliance
Halogen Communications	PMI	Communications campaign in Scotland against standardised packaging
Luther Pendragon	PMI	Wrote to political leaders and Trading Standards officials on behalf of Philip Morris
Pepper Media	PMI	Communications campaign linking illicit tobacco to standardised packaging
Tribe Marketing Ltd	Forest	Commissioned by Forest to collect signature and postcard contributions for the Hands Off Our Packs campaign in 2012
Herbert Smith LLP	BAT	Wrote to the UK Intellectual Property Office on behalf of British American Tobacco
Powell Gilbert LLP	PMI	Wrote to the UK Intellectual Property Office on behalf of Philip Morris

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Plain Packaging in the UK
• Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Company Opposition
• Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Industry Built Alliances
• Plain Packaging in the UK: Tobacco Industry Funded Third Party Campaigns

TCRG Research

• For summaries of relevant peer-reviewed research, see Tobacco Control Research Group: Evidence on Plain Packaging and Plain Packaging in the UK: TCRG Research on Policy Opposition 2011-2013
• Standardised tobacco packaging: a health policy case study of corporate conflict expansion and adaptation, J. L Hatchard, G. J . Fooks, A .B . Gilmore, BMJ Open, 2016;6:e012634 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012634
• ‘It will harm business and increase illicit trade’: an evaluation of the relevance, quality and transparency of evidence submitted by transnational tobacco companies to the UK consultation on standardised packaging 2012, K. Evans-Reeves, J. Hatchard, A. Gilmore, 2015, Tobacco Control;24(e2):e168-e177
• International trade law, plain packaging and tobacco industry political activity: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, G. Fooks, A. Gilmore, 2014, Tobacco Control;23(1):e1, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050869
• A critical evaluation of the volume, relevance and quality of evidence submitted by the tobacco industry to oppose standardised packaging of tobacco products, J. Hatchard, G. Fooks, K. Evans-Reeves, S. Ulucanlar, A. Gilmore, 2014, BMJ Open;4(2):e003757
• Representation and Misrepresentation of Scientific Evidence in Contemporary Tobacco Regulation: A Review of Tobacco Industry Submissions to the UK Government Consultation on Standardised Packaging, S. Ulucanlar, G. Fooks, J. Hatchard, A. Gilmore, 2014, PLOS Medicine;11(3):e1001629
• How do corporations use evidence in public health policy making? The case of standardised tobacco packaging, J Hatchard, K. Evans-Reeves, S. Ulucanlar, G. Fooks, A. Gilmore, 2013, Lancet;382(s3):S42