Graphic warnings on cigarettes effective across demographic groups

Graphic warnings on cigarettes effective across demographic groups

HSPH FEATURES

Cancer prevention
HSPH students raise awareness of cancer in developing nations

Biology and health
After 40 years, Joseph Brain kicks off final semester teaching 'Human Organism' to undergrads

Disadvantaged Groups Stand to Benefit from Hard-Hitting Tobacco WarningsFor immediate release: Monday, January 14, 2013

Washington, D.C. – Quitting smoking is a common New Year’s resolution
for Americans each year, but research has repeatedly shown it is not an
easy task. Some groups, such as racial/ethnic minorities, have an even
harder time quitting. New research suggests hard-hitting graphic tobacco
warnings may help smokers of diverse backgrounds who are struggling to
quit. A new study by researchers at Legacy® and Harvard School of Public
Health provides further evidence that bold pictorial cigarette warning
labels that visually depict the health consequences of smoking — such as
those required under the 2009 Family Smoking and Prevention Tobacco Control Act — play a life-saving role in highlighting the dangers of smoking and encouraging smokers to quit.

The study is one of the first to examine the effectiveness of
pictorial warning labels versus text-only labels across diverse
racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Although a growing body of
research has shown that disadvantaged groups may differ in their ability
to access, process and act on health information, little is known about
communication inequalities when it comes to cigarette warning labels.

The study authors note that text-only cigarette warnings have been
repeatedly characterized as unlikely to be noticed or have an impact,
and cite prior research indicating pictorial warning labels are more
effective.

“Interventions that have a positive impact on reducing smoking among
the general population have often proven ineffective in reaching
disadvantaged groups, worsening tobacco-related health disparities,”
said Jennifer Cantrell, DrPH, MPA, and Assistant Director for Research
and Evaluation at Legacy®, a national public health foundation devoted
to reducing tobacco use in the U.S. “It’s critical to examine the impact
of tobacco policies such as warning labels across demographic groups.”

Senior author Vish Viswanath,
associate professor of society, human development, and health at
Harvard School of Public Health, said, “There is a nagging question
whether benefits from social policies accrue equally across ethnic and
racial minority and social class groups. The evidence from this paper
shows that this new policy of mandated Graphic Health Warnings would
benefit all groups. Given the disproportionate burden of tobacco-related
disease faced by the poor and minorities, mandating strong pictorial
warnings is an effective and efficient way to communicate the risk of
tobacco use.”

The new study, published January 14, 2013, in the journal PLOS ONE,
examined reactions to cigarette warning labels from more than 3,300
smokers. Results show that hard-hitting, pictorial graphic warnings are
more effective than text-only versions, with smokers indicating the
labels are more impactful, credible, and have a greater effect on their
intentions to quit. Moreover, the study found that the stronger impact
of pictorial warnings was similar across vulnerable subpopulations, with
consistent reactions across race/ethnicity, education, and income.

“The implementation of graphic warning labels appears to be one of
the few tobacco control policies that have the potential to reduce
communication inequalities across groups,” Cantrell said.

“Tobacco use is a social justice issue,” added Donna Vallone, PhD,
Senior Vice President for Research and Evaluation at Legacy®. “Given
that low income and minority communities have higher smoking rates and
suffer disproportionately from tobacco’s health consequences, studies
like this show us that graphic warning labels can help us reach these
subgroups in a more effective way, ultimately saving more lives.”

Background:

More than 400,000 Americans die each year as a result of
tobacco-related diseases, which include heart disease, cancers,
emphysema and stroke.

The U.S. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of
2009 required new graphic health warnings that depict the negative
health consequences of smoking to be placed on cigarette packages and in
cigarette advertisements by September 2012. However, the new labels
have been blocked by tobacco companies who have challenged the
constitutionality of the Act and its provisions.

The study adds to the research on the effectiveness of graphic
warning labels on tobacco products, providing evidence that the
FDA-approved pictorial warning labels would achieve their desired effect
without exacerbating inequalities, thus enhancing the efficiency and
cost-effectiveness of warning label policy.

Read the study

Support for the study was provided by Legacy.

For more information:

Marge Dwyer
mhdwyer@hsph.harvard.edu
617.432.8416


Source:-
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/graphic-warnings-on-cigarettes-effective-across-demographic-groups/