RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Use and abuse of statistics in tobacco industry-funded research on standardised packaging
JF Tobacco Control
JO Tob Control
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 422
OP 424
DO 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052051
VO 24
IS 5
A1 Anthony A Laverty
A1 Pascal Diethelm
A1 Nicholas S Hopkinson
A1 Hilary C Watt
A1 Martin McKee
YR 2015
UL http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/24/5/422.abstract
AB In this commentary we consider the validity of tobacco industry-funded research on the effects of standardised packaging in Australia. As the first country to introduce standardised packs, Australia is closely watched, and Philip Morris International has recently funded two studies into the impact of the measure on smoking prevalence. Both of these papers are flawed in conception as well as design but have nonetheless been widely publicised as cautionary tales against standardised pack legislation. Specifically, we focus on the low statistical significance of the analytical methods used and the assumption that standardised packaging should have an immediate large impact on smoking prevalence.