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Lawmakers in the UK are hoping that packaging cigarettes in a gross sludge-like color will help smokers quit the habit for good, and psychologists agree.
The greenish-brown color, called Pantone 448C, has already been dubbed the world’s ugliest color after marketing research company GfK Bluemoon asked Australian smokers which color they found most unappealing.
In fact, participants described the muddy color as “death,” “tar,” and “dirty” when asked to talk about their feelings toward Pantone 448C.
By stripping cigarette packages of bright attractive colors, health officials in the UK hope they can deter smokers from picking up their next pack.
This isn’t the first time color has been used to stop people from doing something, according to Angela Wright, a color consultant and author of "The Beginner's Guide to Colour Psychology."
In the 1960s, Faber Birren, an American color consultant, came up with a plan to keep department store employees from taking such long bathroom breaks.
"The company asked him, 'Can you improve the working area so they don't have to leave all the time and use the restrooms?'" Wright said. "Birren actually took a different view and painted the restrooms in a color similar to Pantone 448C. And nobody wanted to spend time in the restrooms after that."
So, what makes people hate Pantone 448C as much as they do? Well, it kind of resembles human waste, according to Wright.
"It makes perfect sense that smoking packets would use a vile green that looks like bodily fluids and makes people feel slightly nauseated," she said.
Whether or not this vile color will actually help smokers kick their habit to the curb is yet to be seen, but if it works in the UK, we might start seeing a lot more of Pantone 448C around the world.
