TY - JOUR
T1 - Effectiveness of Mental Health Warnings on Tobacco Packaging in People With and Without Common Mental Health Conditions
T2 - An Online Randomised Experiment
AU - Sawyer, Katherine
AU - Burke, Chloe
AU - Ng, Ronnie Long Yee
AU - Freeman, Tom P.
AU - Adams, Sally
AU - Taylor, Gemma
N1 - Funding Information:
GT had previously received funding from Grand (Pfizer) for work not related to this project. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Funding Information:
GT was funded by the Cancer Research UK Population Researcher Postdoctoral Fellowship award (reference: C56067/A21330) and Cancer Research UK project award (reference: PPRCPJT\100023).
PY - 2022/7/14
Y1 - 2022/7/14
N2 - Background: Health warning labels on tobacco packaging are a cost-effective means of health risk communication. However, while an extensive range of physical health risks are well-portrayed via current tobacco health warnings in the UK, there are none that currently portray the negative impact of smoking on mental health. Aims: (i) develop novel mental health warning labels for tobacco packaging and (ii) test perceptions of these warnings in smokers and non-smokers, with and without mental health problems. Methods: Six mental health warning labels were developed with a consultancy focus group. These warning labels were tested in an online randomised experiment, where respondents (N = 687) rated six Mental Health Warning Labels (MHWLs) and six Physical Health Warning Labels (PHWLs) on measures of perceived effectiveness, believability, arousal, valence, acceptability, reactance and novelty of information. Results: MHWLs were perceived as low to moderately effective (mean = 4.02, SD = 2.40), but less effective than PHWLs (mean = 5.78, SD = 2.55, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.63). MHWLs were perceived as less believable, arousing, unpleasant, and acceptable than PHWLs. MHWLs evoked more reactance and were rated as more novel. Perceptions of MHWLs did not differ in people with and without mental health problems except for reactance and acceptability, but consistent with the PHWL literature, perceptions of MHWLs differed between non-smokers and smokers. Conclusion: MHWLs could be an effective means to communicate novel information about the effects of smoking on mental health. MHWLs are perceived as less effective, believable, arousing, unpleasant, and acceptable than PHWLs, but MHWLs evoke more reactance and are rated as more novel.
AB - Background: Health warning labels on tobacco packaging are a cost-effective means of health risk communication. However, while an extensive range of physical health risks are well-portrayed via current tobacco health warnings in the UK, there are none that currently portray the negative impact of smoking on mental health. Aims: (i) develop novel mental health warning labels for tobacco packaging and (ii) test perceptions of these warnings in smokers and non-smokers, with and without mental health problems. Methods: Six mental health warning labels were developed with a consultancy focus group. These warning labels were tested in an online randomised experiment, where respondents (N = 687) rated six Mental Health Warning Labels (MHWLs) and six Physical Health Warning Labels (PHWLs) on measures of perceived effectiveness, believability, arousal, valence, acceptability, reactance and novelty of information. Results: MHWLs were perceived as low to moderately effective (mean = 4.02, SD = 2.40), but less effective than PHWLs (mean = 5.78, SD = 2.55, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.63). MHWLs were perceived as less believable, arousing, unpleasant, and acceptable than PHWLs. MHWLs evoked more reactance and were rated as more novel. Perceptions of MHWLs did not differ in people with and without mental health problems except for reactance and acceptability, but consistent with the PHWL literature, perceptions of MHWLs differed between non-smokers and smokers. Conclusion: MHWLs could be an effective means to communicate novel information about the effects of smoking on mental health. MHWLs are perceived as less effective, believable, arousing, unpleasant, and acceptable than PHWLs, but MHWLs evoke more reactance and are rated as more novel.
KW - mental health
KW - smoking
KW - survey
KW - tobacco control
KW - tobacco warning labels
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135082588&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.869158
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.869158
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85135082588
SN - 1664-0640
VL - 13
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
M1 - 869158
ER -