Smokers are more likely to remember the health risks associated with smoking if the warnings on tobacco packets are accompanied by a graphic image, new research shows.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine recruited 200 smokers who were shown one of two warning label advertisements – one with a graphic image accompanied by a written health warning, and a text-only version.
Eye-tracking technology was used to see how long each person looked at different components of the ads.
Participants were then asked to recall the text on the warning label and write it down to see whether they remembered it accurately.
The researchers found that 83 per cent of people who were shown the graphic warning label correctly recalled the text, compared with just 50 per cent of those who saw the text-only version.
In addition, the longer a person viewed the graphic image, the more likely they were to remember the text.
Dr Andrew Strasser, whose findings are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, said: ‘Based on this new research, we now have a better understanding of two important questions … – do smokers get the message and how do they get the message?
‘In addition to showing the value of adding a graphic warning label, this research also provides valuable insight into how the warning labels may be effective, which may serve to create more effective warning labels in the future.’
Some experts argue that introducing plain packaging for tobacco products would further enhance the effectiveness of warning messages.