Reactions of Young Adult Smokers to Warning Labels on Cigarette Packages (original) (raw)
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Young adults' perceptions of cigarette warning labels in the United States and Canada
Preventing chronic disease, 2007
For the past 20 years, there have been no changes to the text-only cigarette warning labels in the United States. During this same time period, other countries placed large graphic warning labels on cigarette packages. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reactions of U.S. young adult smokers and nonsmokers aged 18 to 24 years to Canadian cigarette label text and graphic warnings. The study focused on determining their perceptions and the potential impact of Canadian labels on smoking, and study participants were asked for suggestions for modifications of U.S. cigarette warning labels so they would be effective for smoking deterrence and cessation. During January and February 2002, 11 focus groups consisting of 54 smokers and 41 nonsmokers were conducted in the Detroit metropolitan area. Current smokers were defined as those who had smoked a cigarette within the past 30 days. Participants were asked about their knowledge and perceptions of current U.S. cigarette warning ...
Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de santé publique
Since 1989 when health warning labels appeared on Canadian cigarette packages, the labels have changed from text only covering less than one quarter of the package to text and graphics covering over half the package. This study examines how Canadians in their 20s feel about the current graphic warning labels and their potential to prevent smoking and encourage quitting. Participants between 20 and 24 years of age were part of a 10-year cohort study begun when the group was in Grade 6, with the purpose of examining factors that may affect smoking. Five questions about warning labels were added to the 2002 questionnaire requesting information on perceptions of the labels and their potential impact on smoking behaviours of young adults. One item had been included in previous questionnaires. 32.8% (n = 1267) of the respondents were smokers, with males (35.6%) being more likely to smoke than females (30.4%). Current smokers were less likely than experimental/ex-smokers to believe that wa...
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2013
introduction: In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration published a final rule requiring cigarette packages and advertisements to include graphic health warning labels (HWLs) with new warning statements. Implementation of this rule has been stalled by legal challenge. This study assessed correlates of smoking-related intentions related to graphic HWLs among current cigarette smokers and nonsmokers in a national sample of U.S. young adults aged 18-34. Methods: Data were collected from 4,236 participants aged 18-34 using an online panel in January 2012 for the Legacy Young Adult Cohort Study. Analyses were weighted to provide nationally representative estimates. Our main outcome was assessed with a single item: "Do you think that new warning labels with graphic pictures would make you think about not smoking?" results: Twenty-two percent of the young adults were current cigarette smokers. Fifty-three percent endorsed that new graphic HWLs would make them think about not smoking (40% among current smokers compared with 56% among nonsmokers). Among nonsmokers, those aged 18-24, females, Hispanics, and those who were aware of graphic cigarette HWLs were more likely to report intention to not smoke related to graphic HWLs. Among current smokers, intending to quit within the next 6 months was correlated with intention resulting from graphic HWLs. Hispanic ethnicity and intention to quit within 30 days were strong correlates of intention in light, nondaily, and self-identified social/occasional smokers. Conclusions: This study supports previous findings that graphic HWLs play an important role in preventing smoking, in addition to encouraging cessation in young adults. intrOdUCtiOn In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products (FDA CTP) proposed regulation requiring large, graphic health warning labels (HWLs) and nine new warning statements, as dictated by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, to be included on cigarette packages and in cigarette advertisements. Although published as a final rule in 2011, implementation has been stalled by two lawsuits brought by tobacco companies (Food and Drug Administration, 2012) and a U.S. Court of Appeals decision in one of the cases that the graphic warnings proposed violated First Amendment speech protections (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Food and Drug Admin, 2012). In the August 2012 decision, the court affirmed that the FDA did not provide the evidence needed to support that the graphic HWLs would "directly advance" its interest in reducing the number of Americans who smoke (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Food and Drug Admin, 2012). In March 2013, the government affirmed that it would not appeal the case and that the FDA would "undertake research to support a new rulemaking consistent with the Tobacco Control Act" (Associated Press, 2013). Longitudinal data from countries with established graphic HWLs (Australia and Canada) suggest that HWLs reduce smoking prevalence, increase quit attempts, and reduce relapse among ex-smokers (Azagba & Sharaf, 2013; Partos, Borland, Yong, Thrasher, & Hammond, 2013). Both youth and adults are more likely to recall larger warnings, rate larger warnings as having greater impact, and equate the size of the warning with the magnitude of the risk (
PubMed, 2020
Background: Smoking has become a major issue worldwide. With the advancement in technology, more vulnerable populations, such as teenagers, are also being harmed. One deterrent is the presence of graphic labels on cigarette packs. With this rationale in mind, the objective of our study is to assess the impact of these warning labels on the habits and opinions of smokers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by distributing a validated paper-based questionnaire. The sample size was calculated to be 200 using statistical software. The study targeted students of Islamabad, Pakistan, who were studying in twelfth grade and were smokers. The sampling method used was 'snowball sampling'. Findings: 128 (64%) males and 72 (36%) females participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 17.59 ± 0.51 years. 40 participants reported choosing local brands for cigarettes due to cigarette 'freshness', regardless of presence or absence of a graphic label, which was a new concept. 94% of participants believed that presence of a visual label helped with understanding the harm and 78% believed that the side effects were accurately portrayed. Participants who were more than 17 years of age believed that the graphic label provided a clear description of the consequences of smoking. Similar results were seen in the female participants of the study. Conclusion: There is a general consensus on graphic labels altering the opinions of smokers. The presence of these labels is, however, targeting only a specific type of audience and hence, should be expanded for a larger audience.
Health Communication, 2008
This study investigates gain-framed and loss-framed messages on graphic cigarette warning labels and their effects on adolescents' smoking-related attitudes and behaviors. Canadian cigarette warning labels emphasizing health consequences of smoking (loss-framed) were digitally manipulated into gain-framed versions. High school students (N = 210) completed a questionnaire measuring attitudes, perceptions of the warnings, and behavioral intentions. The study used a posttest-only comparison group design with random assignment. The independent variable was message framing (loss-framed, gain-framed avoidance, gain-framed benefits), and the dependent variables were (a) attitudes toward the warning, (b) attitudes toward smoking, (c) effectiveness in reducing smoking levels, (d) intentions to smoke, (e) effectiveness in improving one's ability to quit, and (f) effectiveness in increasing the likelihood of a smoker quitting. Results indicate that adolescents had more favorable attitudes toward the loss-framed warnings and perceived them as more effective than the gainframed warnings. Further, smokers exposed to the loss-framed version featuring decaying teeth had significantly lower intentions to smoke in the future. Loss-framed warning labels appear to have a positive influence on adolescents' smoking-related attitudes and behavioral intentions.
2007
Abstract Cigarette smoking is a major source of mortality and medical costs in the United States. More graphic and salient warning labels on cigarette packs as used in Canada may help to reduce smoking initiation and increase quit attempts. However, the labels also may lead to defensive reactions among smokers. In an experimental setting, smokers and nonsmokers were exposed to Canadian or US warning labels.
Effects of cigarette on-pack warning labels on smoker’s perceptions and behaviour
2006
This research explored smokers' reactions to pictorial warnings on cigarette packaging, and compared these to new and existing text-only warning labels. Purposive sampling yielded a sample of 310; each respondent saw one of five warning labels and their affective, cognitive and behavioural responses were measured during structured interviews. Respondents perceived the pictorial warning labels to be more credible and effective than the text-only versions, but not more fear inducing. The pictorial warnings elicited higher levels of cessation related behaviours and were perceived as better deterrents to non-smokers than any of the text-only warnings.
The Effectiveness of Cigarette Warning Label Threats on Nonsmoking Adolescents
Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2009
This experiment investigated three levels of threat in cigarette warning labels: no warning/text warning only/text + graphic warning. Teenagers in Canada and the US were exposed to one of these labels in a web-surfing environment. Participants surfed a website sponsored by a familiar cigarette brand or an unfamiliar cigarette brand. After surfing, three dependent measures were assessed: brand attitude, website attitude, and smoking intent. Results indicated that the graphic label was the most effective for Canadian participants, leading to negative attitudes and lower smoking intentions, but the graphic label was least effective at lowering smoking intentions for US participants.
Responses to Graphic Warning Labels among Low-income Smokers
American Journal of Health Behavior, 2020
Objective: Graphic warning labels (GWLs) are effective in communicating tobacco-related harms. Methods: In this mixed-methods study, we used purposive sampling to recruit 100 low-income smokers in the San Francisco Bay Area between October 2017 and February 2018 to participate in an intervention promoting smoke-free homes. We presented the 2009 Food and Drug Administration-proposed GWLs and explored perceptions of affect, efficacy, and appeal using questionnaires at baseline, 3- and 6-months follow-up. Because of participants' interest in this topic, we subsequently conducted a qualitative sub-study among 20 participants exploring perceived efficacy of GWLs on smoking cessation. Results: In all, 87.3% and 59.2% agreed that GWLs were useful and would motivate cessation behaviors, respectively, at baseline. We found that the most common responses were shock (61.8%) and disgust (55.3%), whereas anger (29.0%) and annoyance (19.7%) were less common. Participants also reported that GW...