Dissuasive cigarettes: which cues are the most effective at deterring young people from smoking?

Reactions to, and trial intentions for, three dissuasive cigarette designs: a cross-sectional survey of adolescents in Scotland

“…Our findings are consistent with research that has shown that consumers have negative reactions to dissuasive cigarettes. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] The findings are important given that there are fewer studies with adolescents than adults, even though the potential impact would be expected to be greater with the former. 19 Adolescents are a population who often access single cigarettes from friends, peers or family 28,29,30 and, as a consequence, may avoid exposure to prominent health warnings or unattractively coloured packaging (for those countries with standardised packaging) at the point of experimentation or consumption.…”

“…chemicals such as bleach) and is used by the Health and Safety executive to describe 'acutely toxic' chemicals. 33 The image has also been used in a study in France, 26 and was considered to clearly communicate the harmfulness of smoking among developmental focus groups with adolescents in Scotland. 27 [Figure 1]…”

“…[15][16][17][18][19] Secondly, research has explored cigarettes that feature a health warning on the stick, including 'Smoking kills', average minutes of life lost from smoking each cigarette, and the short and long-term harms of smoking. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] More recently, research has also explored including both a warning message (smoking kills) and an image (skull and cross bones). 26,27 Irrespective of design, dissuasive cigarettes are generally considered to reduce appeal and increase perceptions of harm, with some research suggesting that they may have the potential to encourage thoughts about quitting or prevent uptake among young people.…”

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] More recently, research has also explored including both a warning message (smoking kills) and an image (skull and cross bones). 26,27 Irrespective of design, dissuasive cigarettes are generally considered to reduce appeal and increase perceptions of harm, with some research suggesting that they may have the potential to encourage thoughts about quitting or prevent uptake among young people. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Only a few studies have examined how adolescents react to dissuasive cigarettes.…”

“…26,27 Irrespective of design, dissuasive cigarettes are generally considered to reduce appeal and increase perceptions of harm, with some research suggesting that they may have the potential to encourage thoughts about quitting or prevent uptake among young people. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Only a few studies have examined how adolescents react to dissuasive cigarettes. 17,20,27 Adolescents are a key group because when starting to smoke they often do so with single cigarettes which they have bought, been given or have stolen, and therefore may avoid exposure to the on-pack warnings at the point of consumption.…”