[Intl-tobacco] Canada study: Graphic cigarette warnings effective

[Robert Weissman]

Canada study: Graphic cigarette warnings effective
Source: CNN, 2002-01-09
OTTAWA, Canada (CNN) -- 

Graphic warning labels on cigarette packages
in Canada have been effective in discouraging smoking, according to
a study by the Canadian Cancer Society.

Fifty-eight percent of smokers interviewed in the study said
full-color pictures of how cancer affects the mouth, lungs, heart
and brain had made them think more about the health effects of
smoking.

The warnings were so effective that 44 percent of the smokers polled
said the new warnings increased their motivation to quit smoking.
And 38 percent of smokers who attempted to quit in 2001 said the new
warnings were a factor in motivating them to try to quit.

The full-color, picture-based warnings cover half of the front and
back of each package of cigarettes. They include pictures of a
diseased mouth, a lung tumor, a brain after a stroke, a damaged
heart, and a limp cigarette that warns of impotence. Warnings inside
each package offer tips on quitting.

The warnings were launched about a year ago and replaced
black-and-white text  messages that covered about 35 percent of each
package, similar to cigarette package warnings in the United
States.

The study also found that:

-- 43 percent of smokers and 40 percent of nonsmokers said they are
more concerned about the health effects of smoking because of the
new warnings;

-- 21 percent of smokers said they have been tempted on one or more
occasions to have a cigarette but decided not to because of the new
warnings;

-- 27 percent of smokers said they smoke less inside their home
because of the new warnings;

-- 35 percent of smokers and 34 percent of nonsmokers said they know
more about the health effects of smoking than they did before the
new warnings;

-- 48 percent of nonsmokers said the new warnings made them feel
better about being a nonsmoker;

--17 percent of smokers said they have put their cigarette pack away
at least once  because they did not want others to see the warning,
and 24 percent of smokers said they have at least once put a
cardboard sleeve over their pack or transferred cigarettes to
another container;

--18 percent of smokers said they have on at least one occasion
asked for a different package of cigarettes when purchasing them
because they did not like the warning on the package first
offered.

In addition, smokers and nonsmokers identified the warning depicting
a diseased mouth and the picture of a lung tumor as most effective
at discouraging smoking.

The health warnings on cigarette packages are required under the
Tobacco Products Information Regulations. The rules, which set a
precedent at the time, were adopted under the Tobacco Act that the
Canadian Parliament passed in 1997.

In January 2000, similar bills were proposed in the United States.
However, the leading advocate, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New
Jersey, retired, and the proposal has not come before Congress under
the Bush administration.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, Brazil will require
picture-based warnings as of January 31, and a European Community
directive gives member countries the option of using pictures. The
World Health Organization is examining picture-based warnings as a
possible worldwide requirement through an international treaty.

The study, in which 2,000 Canadian adults were interviewed -- 633 of
them smokers -- was funded by the Institute of Cancer Research of
the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.