Social Interactions Sparked by Pictorial Warnings on Cigarette Packs.
The Message Impact Framework suggests that social interactions may offer smokers the opportunity to process pictorial warnings on cigarette packs more deeply. We aimed to describe adult smokers' social interactions about pictorial cigarette pack warnings in two longitudinal pilot studies. In Pilot Study 1, 30 smokers used cigarette packs with one of nine pictorial warnings for two weeks. In Pilot Study 2, 46 smokers used cigarette packs with one of five pictorial warnings for four weeks. Nearly all smokers (97%/96% in Pilot Study 1/2) talked about the warnings with other people, with the most common people being friends (67%/87%) and spouses/significant others (34%/42%). Pilot Study 2 found that 26% of smokers talked about the warnings with strangers. Discussions about the health effects of smoking and quitting smoking were more frequent during the first week of exposure to pictorial warnings than in the week prior to beginning the study (both p < 0.05). Pictorial warnings sparked social interactions about the warnings, the health effects of smoking, and quitting smoking, indicating that pictorial warnings may act as a social intervention reaching beyond the individual. Future research should examine social interactions as a potential mediator of the impact of pictorial warnings on smoking behavior.
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. noar@email.unc.edu.|Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. noar@email.unc.edu.
Marissa G
MG
Hall
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. peeblesk@live.unc.edu.
Kathryn
K
Peebles
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. noar@email.unc.edu.|Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. noar@email.unc.edu.
Laura E
LE
Bach
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. noar@email.unc.edu.|School of Media and Journalism, University of North Carolina, Carroll Hall, CB 3365, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. noar@email.unc.edu.
Seth M
SM
Noar
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. kurt_ribisl@unc.edu.|Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. kurt_ribisl@unc.edu.
Kurt M
KM
Ribisl
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. ntb@unc.edu.|Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. ntb@unc.edu.
Noel T
NT
Brewer
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011356:Product Labeling; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D062789:Tobacco Products; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
Pictorial warnings; graphic warnings; health communications; smoking; social interactions