Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Courtney McNamaraORCiD
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Objective: To systematically review the instrumental and discursive barriers and facilitators that have influenced standardised packaging (SP) policies for tobacco, emphasising contextual, institutional, legal, political and rhetorical dynamics.Data sources: We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science for peer-reviewed studies published in English between January 2005 (post-Framework Convention on Tobacco Control enforcement) and October 2025. Search terms combined tobacco and packaging concepts (eg, 'tobacco', 'standardised packaging') with policy process terms (eg, 'barrier', 'facilitator'). Reference lists of included studies were also screened.Study selection: Of 967 records identified, 41 met the inclusion criteria. Eligible studies examined barriers or facilitators to any phase of the SP policy process (preadoption, implementation or postimplementation). Screening was conducted by one reviewer and verified by two others; discrepancies were resolved by consensus.Data extraction and quality appraisal: Data were extracted into a framework integrating the Policy Dystopia Model, Multiple Streams Theory and Strategic Action Typologies. Extracted elements included instrumental (action-based) and discursive (argument-based) strategies, policy stage, actor type, design/data collection methods. Quality was assessed using an adapted Critical Appraisal of Research Evidence tool.Data synthesis: Industry-led legal, economic and framing strategies were consistent barriers, while governmental legal preparedness, coordination and strategic framing enabled progress, mainly in high-income countries. Evidence on low and middle-income countries and postimplementation processes remains scarce. Research relies heavily on secondary or descriptive designs, underscoring the need for longitudinal, process-oriented analyses.Conclusions: SP success depends on navigating political, institutional and discursive arenas as much as technical design. Strengthening legal capacity, coordination and framing is vital to sustain implementation globally.
Author(s): Borges LC, McNamara C, Crosbie E
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Tobacco Control
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 25/12/2025
Acceptance date: 10/12/2025
ISSN (print): 0964-4563
ISSN (electronic): 1468-3318
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2025-059686
DOI: 10.1136/tc-2025-059686
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
