Preventive messages about cigarettes, coming soon?

One of the guiding principles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is warning smokers of the risks associated with smoking. In practice, this principle is now applied in 120 countries thanks to health warnings on cigarette packages, which help to thwart the tobacco industry's marketing strategies aimed at attracting consumers, particularly young people, with attractive visuals. A Scottish study, published in August 2019 in the journal Addiction Research & Theory, takes a closer look at the preventive messages placed directly on cigarettes.[1].

A question subject to debate

In June 2018, as part of its five-year tobacco control plan, the Scottish government planned to implement measures to tarnish the image of cigarettes and thus make them less attractive to consumers. Later that same year, in October, the Canadian government launched a consultation that included the issue of preventive messages on cigarettes. Tobacco manufacturers responded that not only were smokers already warned about the risks associated with smoking, but also that the Canadian Ministry of Health had not provided evidence that such messages could influence users' initiation or cessation.

Scientific results showing the impact of preventive messages on cigarettes

The Scottish study published in 2019 follows five other studies on the perceptions and impact of preventive messages on cigarettes, conducted over the past 10 years. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, studies in the 11-16, 16-24, and 16-34 age groups respectively showed that cigarettes were perceived as less attractive when preventive messages were directly displayed on them or when they were colored in a repulsive way. More specifically, in 2012 and 2014, two other studies specifically examined the impact of the "smoking kills" message. The Scottish study complements these studies by relying on a larger sample. The six researchers from the universities of Stirling and Edinburgh studied the perception of the preventive message "smoking kills" on cigarettes in a sample of 120 smokers aged 16 to 50 and over, from the two densest cities in Scotland: Glasgow and Edinburgh. In terms of results, their study confirms that directly affixing preventive messages on cigarettes is a viable policy option for several reasons: - Prevention is obvious: with the message in front of you throughout the cigarette consumption, it appears more difficult to miss the warning; - Avoidance behaviors that we know today with preventive messages on packs are limited; - The denormalization of tobacco is made possible: the "cool" and "fashionable" aspects of cigarettes, predominant in society, are replaced by a degraded perception of the object that valued the appearance of the smoker; - The image of smokers in society is tarnished: the preventive messages visible during consumption of the product would cause a certain embarrassment, especially in the presence of non-smokers.

The introduction of preventive messages directly on cigarettes is currently being considered in Scotland and Canada.[2].

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[1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16066359.2019.1653861

[2] https://www.cnews.fr/monde/2019-09-08/tabac-bientot-des-messages-ecrits-directement-sur-chaque-cigarette-877031

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