The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44662

Michelle Roland, PhD¹, Pascale Wortley, MD, MPH², and Linda Pederson, PhD². (1) OSH, CDC, 1600 clifton Rd, mailstop k-50, Atlanta, GA 30333, 770-488-5582, izr0@cdc.gov, (2) Division of Epidemiology, CDC/Office on Smoking and Health, 4770 Buford Highway NE, MS-K50, Atlanta, GA 30341

Objective: To obtain in-depth qualitative information from young adults about their reactions to current U.S. and Canadian cigarette warning labels. Methods: During January and February 2002, 12 focus groups were conducted in Detroit with young adults between 18 and 24 years of age. Separate focus groups were held for smokers and non smokers, college educated and non college educated persons, and men and women. Participants’ racial/ethnic mix was representative of the Detroit metropolitan region. The focus groups were held in Detroit because its proximity to Canada may increase the likelihood that participants would have seen warnings on actual cigarette packs. Participants were shown Canadian labels and the discussion focussed on their reactions to them. Results: Both male and female smokers stated that current U.S. warnings fail to get the attention of smokers and thought that warnings that are larger and include pictures are more likely to encourage smokers to stop smoking. In these focus groups, women tended to be more likely than men to state that they would quit smoking if graphics were added to U.S. cigarette packages. Both men and women felt that factual scientific messages and listed ingredients would increase believability of warnings and may result in deterring initiation and assisting in stopping smoking. Conclusion: Preliminary analyses suggest that the reactions of young U.S. smokers to Canadian warning labels are similar to those of Canadian smokers.

Learning Objectives:

• To describe reactions to Canadian and U.S. warning labels. To compare focus groups results to previous research studies. To describe qualitative research pertaining to designing effective labels.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.