Effectiveness of Pictorial Warnings in Cigarette Packs on Quit Intention

Abstract

Smoking and tobacco usage have become a widely spread problem in Sri Lanka. Further, the linkage between smoking and lung cancer has become very obvious. In contrast, 45.7% of men, 5.3 % of women, and 25.8 % overall are the current users of tobacco in any form. Meanwhile, as to resolve the issues of tobacco usage, many health researchers and professionals consider that the implementation of graphic warning labels on cigarette packages as a breakthrough in anti-smoking communication efforts. It can be predicted that smokers' intentions to quit smoking will increase as the depiction of the pictorial warning becomes more graphic. Accordingly, this study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of pictorial warning on the quitting decision of tobacco smokers. Primary data for the study were collected through a structured formal questionnaire. The sample consisted of 261 respondents who are currently smoking and living within the Western Province, Southern Province, and Central Province and the Snowball sampling technique was used. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, correlation coefficient, simple regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Test results indicated that the pictorial warnings in cigarette packs are effective and have an impact on quit intention. The findings of the study can be useful to public health officials to identify the effectiveness of their warning labels and to educate the general public about the negative effects of smoking. Kyewords: Pictorial warnings, Anti-smoking promotional tools, Quit intension