A man smokes a cigarette on September 25, 2014 in Paris, holding a sample of a “plain cigarette packaging” cigarette box PHOTO: AFP
As strange as it sounds, research has named Pantone 448 C as the ugliest colour in the world and tasked it with discouraging people from smoking.
A “drab, dark brown” also called “opaque couché,” was specifically selected after three months and multiple studies by research agency GfK.
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Described as “death,” “dirty” and “tar," it’s not just plain ugly. It also has an important job to discourage people from smoking.
The agency was hired by the Australian government to find a colour that was so repugnant that if it was on tobacco products, it would dissuade people from smoking.
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The colour was later adopted by the country for all tobacco packaging along with graphic health warnings. Other countries in Europe, such as, United Kingdom, Ireland and France are now following Australia’s example and have passed “plain packaging” laws as well, using mockups using the same murky color.
This article originally appeared on TIME.
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