Effectiveness of pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs among Lebanese school and university students

Abstract

The results of the present study add to the general international literature on the impact of pictorial warnings on youth and young adults. This study is also the first to test a non-health pictorial warning about the negative economic consequences of smoking, and to find that such a warning was effective among specific sociodemographic groups.

Australian community pharmacist experiences with smoking cessation and opinions of health warnings on individual cigarette sticks

“…[28,29] Participants in this study also suggested warnings which focus on pregnant women and children, and the impact of tobacco use on these vulnerable populations, and the effects of tobacco use on personal appearance, which are themes reported elsewhere. [30][31][32] As smoking during adulthood is most often the result of experimentation during adolescence, taking advantage of the vanity of this younger age group through depicting the appearancerelated consequences of tobacco use has been theorised to be more effective than the eventual development of chronic diseases, which feel less relevant to adolescents. [33][34][35][36] Ageing skin, reduced physical fitness, oral diseases and body odour were all identified by participants in this study as potentially effective messages in reducing adolescent tobacco use.…”

Did the introduction of pictorial health warnings increase information seeking for smoking cessation?: Time-series analysis of Google Trends data in six countries

“…Several studies have aimed to assess the effectiveness of PHW in increasing cessation rates [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . Most of these studies had an experimental design.…”

“…Unfortunately, according to a 2014 review, the quality of the published studies was mostly poor to very poor, thus affecting the strength of the available evidence 16,21 . This implied a need for stronger methodological designs with prospective follow-up 16 , such as a more recent trial that supported earlier evidence on the effectiveness of PHW 17 .…”

The retail environment for tobacco: a barometer of progress towards the endgame

“…Several studies address the relative impact of warning labels that do not meet minimum international standards,16–18 and make recommendations for novel content and locations for warning statements 19 20. In a multicountry survey, pictorial warnings improve smokers’ awareness of quitlines and cessation websites, moreso when the information appeared on both the front and back panels 18.…”

“…In a multicountry survey, pictorial warnings improve smokers’ awareness of quitlines and cessation websites, moreso when the information appeared on both the front and back panels 18. This issue includes the first pictorial warning about the economic impact of smoking which tested well with adolescents and young adults in Lebanon,19 and would likely resonate with other target audiences, particularly low-income smokers. In addition, a pilot study finds that warnings printed on cigarette sticks increase smokers’ intention to quit,20 which suggests new potential for reinforcing effects of on-pack warnings with novel, on-product messages.…”