The study benefits from a national sample of adolescents. Given that gender, age and smoking prevalence are in line with national data,22 ,43 the sample is likely to be representative of the wider adolescent population in the UK. In addition, the main outcome measure of susceptibility is a well validated measure of smoking intentions.1 There are, however, a number of potential limitations. The cross-sectional nature of the survey does not enable causal relationships to be drawn about packaging and future smoking behaviour. The interviews were conducted in-home, where a family member may be present. In this instance, participants may be worried about having positive perceptions surrounding tobacco and socially desirable responses may have provided lower ratings. Finally, despite concealing brand names and identifiers, prior brand knowledge may have influenced pack responses, especially for the ‘regular’ Mayfair pack, which is a common youth brand.