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ASH Scotland urges the government to require large, graphic cigarette warning labels

21 June 2006

New Study Shows Larger Labels Increase Smokers' Knowledge of Health Risks and Intent to Quit

ASH Scotland today urged the government to enact larger, graphic health warnings, citing a new study in the journal Tobacco Control. This new research shows that smokers in countries that require large, graphic health warning labels on cigarette packs are more likely to recognise the dangers of smoking and to be motivated to quit smoking.

Maureen Moore, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland said,

"Cigarettes are the only legal product you can buy that will kill you if you use them as the manufacturer directs. This means we need special measures to make sure people know the consequences of smoking. We call on the UK Government to require the tobacco industry to put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. The pictures may be shocking, but the evidence shows they are effective in persuading smokers to try and quit."

The study compared smokers in four countries - Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - that have widely varying requirements for cigarette warning labels. Canada requires the rotation of 16 warnings that cover 50 percent of the front and back of the cigarette pack and include colour pictures, while Australia rotates six black and white text warnings that cover 25 percent of the front and 33 percent of the back of the pack. The United Kingdom requires six rotating warnings in black and white text on six percent of the face, and the United States requires four rotating warnings in black and white on the side of the pack. The Canadian warnings are the most prominent among the four countries, while the U.S. warnings are the least prominent.

The study found that more prominent warnings had a positive impact both on smokers' knowledge of health risks and intent to quit:

Eighty-four percent of Canadian smokers reported the cigarette package as a source of information on the dangers of smoking, compared to 69 percent of Australian smokers, 56 percent of UK smokers, and 47 percent of U.S. smokers.
Nearly half (49 percent) of Canadian smokers recognized all five health effects of smoking addressed in the survey (lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, impotence, and lung cancer in non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke), while no more than 27 percent of the smokers in any of the other three countries recognized all five.
Smokers who were aware of each of the health effects of smoking were more likely to say they intended to quit smoking in the next six months. In addition, the more total health effects recognized, the more likely smokers were to say they intended to quit.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The full article from Tobacco Control may be downloaded for free from: http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/15/suppl_3/iii19.

Erratum:

The above study was undertaken in 2002 when cigarette warning labels in the UK were required to cover only 6% of the packet surface area. The situation has since changed and the following phrase in the above Press Release "'The United Kingdom requires six rotating warnings in black and white text on six percent of the face" should have been in the past tense. Apologies for any confusion.

For more information please call ASH Scotland on 0131 225 4725 during office hours or 0777 3351878 at other times.

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