Shi Z, Wang AL, Audrain-McGovern J, Lynch KG, Loughead J, Langleben DD. Delayed effects of cigarette graphic warning labels on smoking behavior.
MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.01.06.24300835. [PMID:
38260670 PMCID:
PMC10802660 DOI:
10.1101/2024.01.06.24300835]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Graphic warning labels (GWLs) on cigarette packs are widely employed to communicate smoking-related health risks. Most GWLs elicit high emotional arousal. Our recent study showed lower efficacy of high-arousal GWLs than low-arousal ones during 4 weeks of naturalistic exposure. Here, we conducted a secondary analysis to investigate the delayed effects of GWLs on smoking severity after the end of the 4- week exposure. In 112 adult smokers (56 high-arousal, 56 low-arousal), there was a significant reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD) from immediately post-exposure to 4 weeks post-exposure. The high-arousal and low-arousal groups did not differ in CPD reduction. Our study suggests lasting impact of GWLs on smoking behavior. The finding may be particularly relevant to the high-arousal GWLs, whose efficacy is not as pronounced during direct and continuous exposure.
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