310996
Effect of warning labels and “endorsements” on perceived risk of alternative tobacco products among non-smokers
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Methods: Online experiment with a national sample of 455 adult non-users of tobacco randomized to view print advertisements for snus, e-cigarettes, and moist snuff with either warning labels (current warning label, graphic warning label), or endorsements (“FDA-approved” or the label proposed by one of the large tobacco companies “Warning: No tobacco product is safe, but this product presents substantially lower risks to health than cigarettes”), or control. Perceived harm of each product was measured at pretest and post-test.
Results: Warning labels increased perceived harm of e-cigarettes. Endorsements decreased perceived harm of moist snuff and snus, and the large tobacco company proposed endorsement had an effect similar to the prohibited “FDA Approved” endorsement. Almost 16% of non-users were interested in a free sample of an alternative tobacco product, mostly e-cigarettes (the most requested brand was blu, even if blu was not the brand of e-cigarette ad shown in the experiment). Those interested in a free sample had significantly lower perceived harm of all tobacco products than those not interested in a free sample.
Conclusions: Regulatory agencies should not allow endorsements of alternative tobacco products and should implement graphic warning labels for smokeless tobacco products and warning labels for e-cigarettes.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policyPublic health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Evaluate the effects of putting warning labels on advertisements for electronic cigarettes on product risk perception and interest in free samples.
Evaluate the effects of graphic warning labels for smokeless tobacco (moist snuff & snus) on product risk perception and interest in free samples.
Compare the effects of warning labels and “endorsements” on perceived harm of alternative tobacco products among non-smokers.
Keyword(s): Tobacco Control
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a postdoctoral fellow at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, and my research interests lie in alternative tobacco use, its relationship to tobacco cessation, and marketing of alternative tobacco products.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.