Photos on Cigarette Packages May Be Strong Smoking Deterrent
Recent research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that photos related to the dangers of smoking on cigarette packages are a strong deterrent and provoke more users to quit.*
A clinical trial including 2,149 smokers (1,901 completed the study) were sent warnings either through text or photos. According to the results, 40 percent of the participants who were exposed to the pictures attempted to quit, with 5.7 percent quitting for at least one week. Among the smokers who received only a text warning, 34 percent attempted to quit.
According to the FDA:
Warnings with pictures are more effective than text-only warnings. Pictures also increase the message’s accessibility by people with low levels of literacy. Color pictures are more effective than black and white pictures.**
The graphic images seem to motivate smokers to think more deeply about their habit and the risks associated with smoking. Researchers believe the impact of graphic images on cigarette packages is real because emotions come into play. They are crucial in pushing us to act and make decisions.
While implementation of pictorial cigarette pack warnings in the United States is on hiatus, trial findings support strengthening the treaty to require them.
* http://www.cda.org/Portals/0/journal/journal_082016.pdf
** https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0325.pdf
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