Is the cigarette pack just a wrapper or a characteristic of the product itself? A qualitative study of adult smokers to inform U.S. regulations.

•In the U.S., cigarette packaging can be regulated by the Food & Drug Administration.•Yet, litigation has challenged attempts to regulate changes to packaging.•This paper brings smokers’ voices to the debate about the role of packaging.•Adult smokers in the U.S. connect the packaging design with the product inside.