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U.S. Cigarette Pack
Warnings Ineffective: Study
Tuesday, February 6, 2007; 12:00 AM
MONDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) --
Cigarette pack warning labels with prominent text and graphic pictures
of smoking damage are most effective at changing smokers' behavior,
says a study that looked at warning labels in four countries.
The study found that health warnings on
cigarette packages in the United States, which were last updated in
1984, are the least effective, consisting of only small text warnings
on the side of packages.
In Canada, a large portion of the
cigarette package is covered by a graphic photograph of health damage
caused by smoking. That meets the standard recommended by the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
For this study, researchers analyzed
data from surveys taken during 2002-2005 of about 15,000 adult smokers
in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The smokers were asked about their
awareness of the health warnings on cigarette packages, whether the
warnings changed their understanding about the risks of smoking, their
intention or motivation to quit, and any behavioral changes they'd
noticed in themselves.
"This study suggests that more
prominent health warnings are associated with greater levels of
awareness and perceived effectiveness among smokers," wrote
researcher David Hammond.
The study is published in the March
issue of theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention outlines the health
dangers of smoking.
SOURCE: Elsevier Health Sciences, news
release, Feb. 6, 2007
This original
article
can be found online at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/28/AR2007012801171_pf.html
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