Effect of plain cigarette packaging on point-of-sale purchasing behavior among young adults who smoke.

OBJECTIVE: This experiment evaluated how full versus partial plain cigarette packaging, compared with fully branded packaging, affects young adult smokers' cigarette purchasing and motivation to quit smoking in a simulated retail point-of-sale environment. METHOD: condition, where only the top half of packages were standardized. Cigarette purchases were tracked, and participants completed measures of motivation to quit smoking pre- and postshopping. Logistic regression was used to examine condition effects on these outcomes. RESULTS: s = .53 and .64, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel experimental evidence in support of full plain packaging as a means to further reduce cigarette purchasing in the United States. The lack of an effect of partial plain packaging suggests that this option may not be a sufficient means of regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).