Reasons for store exclusion for irregular branded substudy by month
| Preplain packaging | Implementation | Postplain packaging | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun '12 n (%) | Sep '12 n (%) | Dec '12 n (%) | Feb '13 n (%) | Apr '13 n (%) | Jul '13 n (%) | |
| Total stores visited (n) | 299* | 302* | 303 | 303 | 303 | 303 |
| Stores closed or no longer sold tobacco | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.7) | 6 (2.0) | 8 (2.6) | 7 (2.3) | 10 (3.3) |
| Data collection error | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3† (1.0) | 1 (0.3) | 0 |
| Retailer refused to cooperate with task | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.7) | 0 |
| Pack purchased | 298 (99.7) | 300 (99.3) | 297 (98.0) | 292 (96.4) | 293 (96.7) | 293 (96.7) |
*Stores not visited were mistakenly excluded from the procedure by the fieldworker. This issue was rectified after the second fieldwork month.
†Packs from three stores were irretrievably lost by the postal service in February 2013.