Use and abuse of statistics in tobacco industry-funded research on standardised packaging

作者：Laverty Anthony A^*; Diethelm Pascal; Hopkinson Nicholas S; Watt Hilary C; McKee Martin

来源：Tobacco Control, 2015, 24(5): 422-424.

DOI：10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052051

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.

• 出版日期2015-9