(CNN) Can the sight of a greenish-brown color really be enough to deter smokers from reaching for their next pack of cigarettes? 
 
 Lawmakers in the UK hope the "world's ugliest color" will be helpful in lowering smoking rates in their country. In May, previously passed legislation will go into effect requiring all packs of cigarettes to be standardized. Tobaccos products will be stripped of brightly colored branding and replaced with a sludge-like color. 
 
 But does the stripped-down, "ugly" packaging really reduce smoking? 
 
 Researchers from the UK and Canada summarized several studies that look at the impact of tobacco packaging on consumer attitudes and behavior. Their findings were published today in a Cochrane Review 
 
 Jamie Hartmann-Boyce of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, co-author of the review, noted that "the evidence we have so far suggests that standardized packaging may reduce smoking prevalence and increase quit attempts." 
 
 The UK law, passed last year, is similar to a cigarette standardization plan Australia enacted in 2012, which also features graphic health warnings and standardized fonts. 
 
 The muddy color -- Pantone 448C -- was chosen after marketing research company GfK Bluemoon was commissioned to develop ideas for unappealing cigarette packing. The agency asked Australian smokers about colors they found unappealing and overwhelming. Pantone 448 C was later named "the world's ugliest color." 
 
 Respondents reportedly associated the color with the words "dirty," "tar" and "death." 
 
 I used to feature so much in all your 70s couches, curtains and wallpapers. What did I do to deserve this? — Pantone 448 C (@Pantone448C) August 17, 2012 
 
 Deterring bathroom breaks 
 
 Cigarette and tobacco packaging is not the first time the murky shade has been used in an attempt to turn people away from certain behaviors. According to Angela Wright, a color consultant and author of "The Beginner's Guide to Colour Psychology," the technique has been around for decades. 
 
 She cites American color consultant Faber Birren, who in the 1960s devised a way to stop department store employees from taking lengthy 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." 
 
 This is just one of the many examples that the "world's ugliest color" has been used to minimize appeal to control human behavior. 
 
 Is Pantone 448C really that bad? 
 
 What makes Pantone 448C so off-putting? Wright said she believes it's the association with human waste. 
 
 "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. 
 
 But not everyone agrees. 
 
 France will also introduce plain cigarette packaging. 
 
 "I actually quite like the color," said psychologist Dr. Carolyn Mair of the London College of Fashion, UAL. "It's an earthy, muted, rich color, very much of nature. But then I also don't smoke." 
 
 Color in advertising 
 
 The use of color can play a key role in brand perception among the public. 
 
 "Blue is often used in services such as banking and law because of its association with loyalty, honesty and reliability," Mair said. Red meanwhile "raises the pulse rate ... and communicates strength and high energy," Wright said. 
 
 Color associations Red: Strength, energy, passion Blue: Focus, loyalty, calmness Yellow: Ego, optimism, openness Green: Balance, youth, eco-friendly Purple: Luxury, femininity, glamour Sources: Angela Wright, Carolyn Mair 
 
 "Football teams who have red uniforms are giving themselves more physical energy but also communicating to the opposite team that they are powerful and strong." 
 
 And purple has connotations with luxury, Mair said. 
 
 "Think of Cadbury chocolate (which has a purple logo). At least when it started out, it had the association with a glamorous, smooth, feminine brand," she added. 
 
 Color combinations can also have powerful connotations. 
 
 In the UK, the Esso petrol logo features red, white and blue -- much like many national flags, including those of the United States, Great Britain and France. 
 
 "So this combination can result in an instinctive loyalty," Wright said. 
 
 The eye of the beholder 
 
 That said, perception also plays a huge role -- as seen in Wright's and Mair's different responses to Pantone 448C. 
 
 "Red could be seen as aggressive and demanding -- or as exhilarating and exciting," Wright said. "Similarly, blue could be perceived as calming and well-thought-through -- or excessively bureaucratic and emotionless." 
 
 Wright sees the overwhelming color of our times as a bleak gray. 
 
 "Gray is the color of austerity," Wright said. "And we're going to keep wearing gray until we feel better financially." 
 
 That is, unless you feel compelled to lighten things with a splash of Pantone 448C. ||||| The world’s ugliest color has been described as “death,” “dirty” and “tar,” but this odious hue is serving an important purpose: discouraging smoking. 
 
 Pantone 448 C, a “drab, dark brown” also called “opaque couché,” was specifically selected after three months and multiple studies by research agency GfK. The agency was hired by the Australian government to find a color that was so repugnant that if it was on tobacco products, it would dissuade people from smoking. 
 
 A man smokes a cigarette on September 25, 2014 in Paris, holding a sample of a "plain cigarette packaging" cigarette box (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images) THOMAS SAMSON—AFP/Getty Images 
 
 The new color was adopted for all tobacco packaging along with graphic health warnings. Now, other governments are following suit. The United Kingdom, Ireland and France have all passed “plain packaging” laws as well, using mockups using the same murky color. Ugly never looked so good. 
 
 Gifts: The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time ||||| It’s none of these. They’re too pretty (Picture: Getty) 
 
 A team of experts spent three months trying to determine the world’s ugliest colour. 
 
 And, after detailed research into which colours generated the most negative reactions among the general public, the dubious honour goes to Pantone 448C, also known as opaque couché – a sludgy brown colour that was alternately described by respondents as ‘tar’, ‘dirty’ and even ‘death’. 
 
 Charming. 
 
 But why, you might well ask, are a team of experts throwing so much shade at a colour that was already pretty dreary to begin with? 
 
 The world’s most off-putting colour (Picture: Getty) 
 
 Well, because researchers believe it may be the key to cutting cigarette sales. 
 
 Back in 2012, researchers at Gfk Bluemoon were commissioned by the Australian government to design new packaging aimed at discouraging people from buying cigarettes. 
 
 So, they set out to find the most offensive and unappealing shade in the colour spectrum to put on the packets. 
 
 Over 1,000 smokers took part in seven studies over a period of three months to identify the ugliest colour, with opaque couché coming out on top (or bottom, depending on how you look at it). 
 
 World's ugliest colour, Pantone 448C (opaque couché), helps reduce smoking rates down under: https://t.co/jvTGv8wfiu pic.twitter.com/ImE6ZKASpi — SPHR@Cam (@SPHRcam) June 1, 2016 
 
 Other colours that turned smokers off included lime green, beige, white, mustard and dark gray. Medium olive was also considered a front-runner until it was rejected in the final stages for being ‘too classy’. 
 
 But, after three months, Pantone 448C was judged the ultimate turn-off and used to cover cigarette boxes across Australia. 
 
 And now, after the use of the new and very unexciting packaging has shown early success in curbing cigarette sales Down Under, the UK, Ireland and France have all developed plainer cigarette packaging, featuring, you’ve guessed it, Pantone 448C. 
 
 The new packaging, featuring the world’s ugliest colour (Picture: Getty) 
 
 The new packets launched on May 20. 
 
 Proving, once again, that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. 
 
 MORE: Finally, the world’s favourite colour has been revealed
– In 2012, a marketing research company determined Pantone 448 C (aka "opaque couché") was the world's ugliest color—and it's been used to try to save lives ever since. Per the Guardian, GfK surveyed 1,000 smokers back then to find out which hue turned them off the most, and this Pantone pick—a greenish-brown blend that survey participants said reminded them of "death" and "tar"—emerged the winner. Time notes the agency had been commissioned by the Australian government to find a color so repellent it could be used on cigarette packaging to discourage people from lighting up. The new color was found to have the most ability to "minimize appeal" and "maximize perceived harm" and was implemented on plain cigarette packs with health warnings across Australia, the Brisbane Times reported at the time. Early results are now in, and it appears the color that CNN describes as "sludge-like" may have made an impact: Cigarette sales have fallen, and now other countries such as the UK, France, and Ireland are following suit, per Metro. So what is it about the color that makes it such an effective sales deterrent? A color consultant tells CNN it may be the strong resemblance to, well, poop. But not everyone's on board with trashing opaque couché. Pantone sniffs to the Guardian, "At the Pantone Color Institute, we consider all colors equally," noting that the color's "deep, rich earth tones" make it a oft-chosen pick for sofas. But perhaps the saddest entity of all? The long-silent Pantone 448 C Twitter account, which back in 2012 reacted to the news of its denigrated status by tweeting, "I used to feature so much in all your 70s couches, curtains, and wallpapers. What did I do to deserve this?" (Speaking of ugly, this dating site rejects ugly people.)