Plain Packaging in Tobacco Control: A Bibliometric Analysis

The tobacco epidemic is affecting 8 million people with 1.2 million deaths worldwide. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States in 2003 to counter the growing tobacco menace. Articles 11 and 13 of WHO FCTC suggest plain packaging of tobacco products to reduce the visibility and make tobacco products look less attractive. The current bibliometric analysis was conducted to analyze the visibility and impact of the scientific productions contributing to plain packaging globally. The bibliometric analysis allowed a quantitative analysis of all scientific publications indexed in Scopus. The sample was defined using the keywords “plain packaging OR standardized packaging” AND “tobacco.” Five broad bibliometric domains were assessed for analysis: namely, scientific production, authors, sources or journals, countries, and thematic areas using R programming v4.2.2 and VOSviewer. The total number of documents published regarding plain packaging in tobacco control from 1992 till mid-2022 was determined. Australia tops the list with 99 publications, followed by the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Canada, France, India, Netherlands, Spain, and Egypt. The author citation network showcases the link between the 21 top documents, with a minimum of 50 citations per document. The two main indicators assessed were the total number of articles published in the journal and the h index. Bibliometric indicators in this study illustrated that scientific publications/efforts to implement the WHO FCTC guideline concerning plain packing laws were neglected in most countries.