Anti-smoking images lose impact: study

Smokers eventually tune out graphic warnings, survey suggests

The impact of health warnings on cigarette packs had worn off by the end of 2000, with only a small minority of smokers claiming the messages were influencing them to smoke less, a recently released survey suggests.

The end-of-the-year national poll, which was performed for Health Canada just before new packaging requirements came into effect, revealed that only about one-quarter of respondents said the old messages were effective any more.

Meanwhile, 72 per cent said the warnings were either "not very" or "not at all" effective in changing their smoking habits.

Since January, Canada's tobacco firms have been required by federal law to manufacture most of their major brands in new packs that feature graphic, sometimes shocking, warnings with colour photos that cover 50 per cent of the pack.

Murray Kaiserman, director of research in the government's tobacco control program, said the dwindling impact of the previous messages is consistent with findings that show package warnings are good for only three to four years.

"We expect the new packaging to increase the desire to quit and discourage the desire to take up smoking," he said.

But John MacDonald, director of public affairs for Rothmans Benson and Hedges, said the poll results prove that enforced packaging requirements do not work very well.

"Having the world's largest health warning will not, in the end, have much of an impact. We've always said that you can't legislate social behaviour and this seems to prove it," said Mr. MacDonald.

He acknowledged that there has been a light drop in sales since the beginning of the year but the shift may have been caused by any number of factors, including higher taxes.

The second phase of the new packaging requirements by Health Canada come into effect at the end of June, with the remaining 30 to 40 per cent of the "smaller brands" tobacco market being forced to also conform.

Mr. Kaiserman said the main objective of the messages is to inform Canadians about the health risks involved with smoking. It is too early to know the impact of the new messages.

The poll showed strong support for further labelling of toxins, which also comes into effect for all tobacco products on June 26. It revealed that 79 per cent of adult smokers supported cigarette manufacturers adding the amounts of formaldehyde, benzene and hydrogen cyanide to the current list of chemicals on packages.

Only 10 per cent of adult smokers strongly oppose further toxin labelling.

The poll also showed general confusion about the number of Canadians killed by smoking each year. Only 17 per cent of adults correctly believed that approximately 45,000 Canadians die each year as a result of tobacco use. Forty per cent picked a lower number while 30 per cent chose a higher number.

It also showed that among young smokers, DuMaurier regular size, Players Light regular size and DuMaurier king size are most often mentioned as their regular brand.

Among adult smokers, 77 per cent said they had tried to quit, with 40 per cent saying they hadn't tried in the past year while 16 per cent claiming they had attempted more than three times in the last 12 months.

The final report, which was completed by Environics Research after telephone polling between Nov. 21 and Dec. 23 last year, surveyed three separate groups: the general population, adult smokers and youth.

The general population survey of 721 people is considered an accurate representation of the views of all Canadians within 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error for the separate surveys of 1,000 adult smokers and 1,015 teenagers aged 12 to 18, is 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.