FDA Cigarette Warning Labels May Do More Harm Than Good

The ink is barely dry on regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that will, by September 2012, require larger, more prominent cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States, but already scientists are challenging the worth of the law.

The FDA says the new warnings are the first change in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years and “are a significant advancement in communicating the dangers of smoking.”  Among the more graphic images on the labels are a smoker breathing through a hole in his neck; withered and decaying lungs; and a corpse following an autopsy.

Boomerang Effect

But, say a group of scientists from the University of Missouri, such graphic representations could have just the opposite affect.  They say the images could have a “boomerang effect” by causing strong “defensive reactions” in people who see the labels and images.

To test their theory, the researchers showed a group of 49 people a number of disgusting images, as well as images that were milder.  The results suggested that when viewing the disgusting images, viewers had a tendency to blank out the message – even thought they had stronger memories of the images and had an increased emotional response to them.

What to Do

So, does that mean the new cigarette labels should be deferred or changed?  Unfortunately, the scientists didn’t take a position on that.  They suggest “you have to talk to smokers in a meaningful and encouraging way that outlines the consequences of smoking, but also have messages designed to minimize the defensive avoidance responses.”

Okay, stop smoking or you’re going straight to bed without dinner.  How’s that?

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