LETTER TO THE EDITOR Tobacco control and ‘plain packaging’: performativity, cigarettes and the semiotics of brand names Margaret J. Moran Stritch 1 & Frank Houghton 2 & Diane O’Doherty 2 & Derek McInerney 2 & Bruce Duncan 3 Received: 3 July 2019 /Accepted: 13 July 2019 # Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland 2019 When I’m watchin’ my T. V. And that man comes on to tell me How white my shirts can be But he can’t be a man ‘cause he doesn’t smoke The same cigarettes as me ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones [1] Australia was the first country to introduce plain pack- aging on tobacco products on the 1st December 2012. France followed in 2017, followed in rapid succession by the UK (2017), New Zealand (2017), Norway (2018) and Ireland (2018). This development is in line the World Health Organization’ s (WHO) call on World No Tobacco Day in 2016 to countries to ‘Get ready for plain packaging’ [2] and the articles of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) [3]. Ireland’ s early adoption of this measure is very pos- itive and builds on its strong reputation in the field of tobacco control, which was, established when it became the first country to introduce a workplace-smoking ban [4]. However, despite the introduction of plain packag- ing, current simulations indicate that Ireland will over- shoot its target of becoming smoke free that is having less than five percent of its adult population smoking, by more than three decades [5]. In light of the significant damage wrought by tobac- co, it is time to extend the plain packaging initiative [6]. At present, this legislation focuses primarily on the cigarette/tobacco packets. Brand (e.g. Silk Cut) and variant (e.g. purple) names are only permissible on the monotone packets in line with set criteria detailing the font type, size and colour allowed, alongside the com- bined graphic and text anti-smoking warnings (Fig. 1) [7]. Thus, the cigarette packets themselves have become aversive [8]. However, the cigarettes themselves still appear large- ly unchanged. Hoek et al. have commented on this oversight, stating that ‘the lack of regulatory attention to this marketing vehicle is surprising’ [9]. Although legislation may restrict the font type, size and colour of the brand and variant names that can be printed on the cigarettes, they remain essentially the same as they have for decades (Fig. 2)[7]. This is a significant issue in light of the performative and identity connotations of many brands of cigarettes. The essence of building a brand is around identity. On this issue, Smith et al. (2017) refer to the cigarettes themselves as ‘valuable real estate’ [10]. It is important to note that most regu- lar smokers start smoking while relatively young, as they are forming their emerging adult identities [11]. The visible exhibition and use of certain cigarettes can perform the function of flaunting membership of a par- ticular group and associated badge of identity [ 12]. * Diane O’Doherty diane.odoherty@lit.ie 1 University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland 2 Faculty of Business & Humanities, Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick, Ireland 3 Hauora Tairawhiti, Gisborne, New Zealand Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-019-02066-9