Abstract
Evidence supports the use of graphic warnings to educate the public about the health harms of smoking and suggests warnings eliciting negative emotional responses may be more effective. This study aimed to replicate a preliminary theory-based model whereby perceived new knowledge promotes discouragement from smoking through its impact on worry about smoking with a different sample and using a new set of cigarette graphic warnings. We explored if the pattern extended to encouragement to use e-cigarettes, and if age and user group moderated the indirect effects of these models. Exclusive smokers, dual/e-cigarette users and nonusers (N = 412) evaluated graphic cigarette warnings on perceived new knowledge and worry about health harms of smoking, discouragement to smoke, and encouragement to use e-cigarettes. Perceived new knowledge was both directly and indirectly associated with discouragement to smoke through worry about health harms of smoking, and did not vary as a function of age or user group. In contrast, perceived new knowledge was not directly or indirectly associated with encouragement to use e-cigarettes, and this pattern largely did not vary as a function of age or user group. Graphic cigarette warnings that enhance knowledge may discourage smoking both directly and indirectly through worry elicited by them, and may have less impact on encouraging e-cigarette use. These findings replicate prior work and generalize to different user groups and new warnings planned for implementation in the U.S.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This work was supported by a grant from the UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (A19-0017-001). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent to official views of the UC Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.
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REM, AVS, and LDC contributed to study conceptualization, and writing and editing of the manuscript. REM managed the project, conducted analysis, and led the manuscript preparation.
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This project was submitted to the Washington State University Human Research Protection Program and received an exempt classification. All procedures, including the informed consent process, were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and its later amendments.
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All procedures were conducted in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Prior to viewing the survey, all participants read a consent form and agreed to participate.
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Magnan, R.E., Song, A.V. & Cameron, L.D. Worry as a mechanism of the relationship between perceived new knowledge and discouragement to smoke elicited from graphic cigarette warnings. J Behav Med 45, 818–824 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-022-00344-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-022-00344-z