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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Responses to textual and pictorial cigarette pack health warnings: findings from an exploratory cross-sectional survey study in Austria

Authors: Hannes Mayerl, Erwin Stolz, Wolfgang Freidl

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Packaging and labelling tobacco products has emerged as an effective policy to reduce the global health burden of tobacco use. The main purpose of this study was to explore Austrian smokers’ and ex-smokers’ responses to both the textual and pictorial cigarette pack health warnings (CPHWs) recently implemented.

Methods

We analysed self-reported data (N=500) from an Austrian cross-sectional survey that was conducted after the implementation of the new pictorial CPHWs in 2016.

Results

The results showed only weak effects of the CPHWs on the decision to quit or reduce smoking, and the level of impact of the CPHWs remained limited particularly because of smokers denying the ill-effects of tobacco use.

Conclusions

Although the CPHWs seem to have the potential to promote a change in smoking behaviour, the warnings reached only a rather small group of smokers, while the majority of smokers appeared to remain unaffected by this intervention. Public health policies are challenged to increase the salience of CPHWs and to overcome smokers’ denial of detrimental health effects.
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Metadata
Title
Responses to textual and pictorial cigarette pack health warnings: findings from an exploratory cross-sectional survey study in Austria
Authors
Hannes Mayerl
Erwin Stolz
Wolfgang Freidl
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5342-8

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