Managing Fear Responses: A Qualitative Analysis of Pictorial Warning Labels Five Years Post-Plain Packaging.
Ellen OzarkaLani TeddyMei-Ling BlankAndrew WaaJanet A HoekPublished in: Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (2024)
Our findings suggest existing PWLs, which aim to arouse fear of ill health, could be complemented by warnings that emphasize the benefits of quitting. Continuing to use threat-based PWLs could stimulate greater rationalization and reactance. By contrast, PWLs that aim to illustrate how cessation could benefit people who smoke and their families, rather than instill a fear of disease, could avoid message rejection and counter-argument, and may prove a more powerful way of motivating cessation.