Plain packaging is a major topic of discussion between the industry and the public health community. Ways of designing packaging to differentiate these products from illegal products are being explored. We can already see the first statistics for tobacco, for Australia and France in particular. We can see a link. There is a range of measures. There are advertising campaigns, but specific measures can affect perceptions in particular. The choice of colour can affect the perceived taste of the cigarette. This fact has also been made known publicly. I am referring to motivations to quit smoking. If a cigarette package is white, pink or brown green, the perception is that the cigarettes do not taste as good. The effect is unconscious. In short, it is a complete, comprehensive approach that combines various measures.
There is also the issue of young people. In Quebec, the “Enquête québécoise sur le tabac, l'alcool, la drogue et le jeu chez les élèves du secondaire”, a survey of tobacco, drugs, and gambling among high school students, revealed that the rates of declared use have fallen dramatically since 2000. In 2000, the rate was 41%, but just 23% in 2013. This is a significant difference. The reason for this drop in declared use of cannabis is not clear.
Have these young people become dependent on other substances? That could be. On the other hand, we must recall that Quebec undertook a major campaign in the late 1990s to denormalize smoking and also implemented tobacco legislation. So we cannot establish a causal relationship. The use of tobacco in bars in Quebec is another issue. It is prohibited by law to promote cigarette brands in bars. The question is then why this would be allowed in the case of cannabis.