Text and Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarette Packages: Do They Really Help to Quit Smoking?

Öz

This study aims to contribute to previous re- searches measuring the impact of text and graphic warning labels on cigarette pack­ages by adding a qualitative depth on the experiences of smokers living in Turkey, a country with a prominently high smoking rate. Projective techniques, showing the pictures of cigarette packages with text-only and text-graphic warning labels, were con- ducted with 100 young smokers. The results suggest that although text-graphic messages have bigger impact on smokers in terms of increasing the awareness and encouraging re-thinking about smoking related health risks when compared with text-only labels, they may not be effective in getting smokers to quit as expected

Anahtar Kelimeler

• smoking,warning labels

SİGARA PAKETLERİNİN ÜZERİNDEKİ YAZILI VE RESİMLİ UYARI MESAJLARI: SİGARAYI BIRAKMAYA GERÇEKTEN YARDIMCI OLUYORLAR MI?

Öz

Bu çalışma, sigara içme oranının dikkat çe­kici bir boyutta yüksek olduğu Türkiye’de yazılı ve resimli uyarı mesajlarının etkile­rinin sigara içenlerin deneyimleri üzerine yapılan kalitatif bir calışma ile ölçülmesi so­nucu daha önce yapılan araştırmalara katkı­da bulunmayı amaçlamıştır. Bu çalışmada sigara içen 100 gence sadece yazılı ve yazılı- resimli uyarı mesajlarının yer aldığı sigara paketlerinin gösterildiği projektif teknik uy­gulanmıştır. Sonuçlar yazılı-resimli mesaj­ların farkındalığı arttırmak ve sigara içme ile ilgili sağlık sorunlarını tekrar düşünmeye teşvik etmek bakımından sadece yazılı olan mesajlara göre sigara içenler üzerinde daha etkili olduklarını ancak sigara kullanımını bıraktırmada beklenildiği kadar etkili ola- mayabileceklerini ortaya koymuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• sigara içmek,uyarı me¬sajları

Kaynakça

1. Borland, R. and Hill, D. (1997) “The path to Australia’s tobacco health warning”, Addic- tion, 92 (9) 1151-7.
2. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Fact Sheet: Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/ data_statistics/Factsheets/health_effects. htm (accessed 11 July, 2007).
3. Coffey, A. and Atkinson, P. (1996) Mak- ing sense of qualitative data: Complemen- tary research strategies, Thousand Oaks, Sage.
4. Denscombe, M. (2004) “Health warnings on cigarette packets: Perceiving the risk”, Edu- cation and Health, 22 (3) 35-8.
5. Devlin, A., Anderson, S., Hastings, G., Macfadyen, L. (2005) “Targeting smokers via tobacco product labelling: Opportunities and challenges for Pan European Health Promotion”, Health Promotion International, 20 (1) 41-9.
6. Duffy, S.A. and Burton, D. (2000) “Cartoon characters as tobacco warning labels”, Ar- chives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 154 (12) 1230-6.
7. Falkin, G.P., Fryer, C.S., Mahadeo M. (2007) “Smoking cessation and stress among teenagers”, Qualitative Health Research, 17,812-823.
8. Fong, G.T., Cummings, K.M., Shopland, D.R. (2006) “Building the evidence base for effec- tive tobacco control policies: The Internation- al Tobacco Control policy evaluation project (the ITC Project)”, Tobacco Control, 15, 1-2.

9. Gergen, K.J. and Gergen, M. (1981) Social Psychology, New York, Harcourt Brace Jo- vanovich. General Directorate of Ministry of Health. National tobacco control program. Turkish Official Gazette 2006; No: 26312: Ankara.
10. Hammond, D., Fong, G.T., Borland, R., Cummings, K.M., McNeill, A., Driezen, P.(2007) “Text and graphic warnings on ciga¬rette packages: Findings from the Interna- tional Tobacco Control Four Country study”, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32 (3) 202-9.
11. Hammond, D., Fong, G.T., McDonald, P.W., Brown, S., Cameron, R. (2004) “Graphic Canadian cigarette warning labels and adverse outcomes: Evidence from Cana¬dian smokers”, American Journal of Public Health, 94 (8) 1442-5.
12. İtil, O., Ergör, G., Ceylan, E. (2004) ”Knowl- edge and attitudes about smoking among students in a medical faculty”, Turkish Re- spiratory Journal, 5 (2) 86-91.
13. Kees, J., Burton, S., Andrews, J.C., Kozup, J. (2006) “Tests of graphic visuals and ciga¬rette package warning combinations: Impli- cations for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control”, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 25 (2) 212-223.
14. Koval, J.J., Aubut, J.A., Pederson, L.L., O’Hegarty, M., Chan, S.S. (2005) “The potential effectiveness of warning labels on cigarette packages: The perceptions of young adult Canadians”, Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96 (5) 353-6.
15. Kvale, S. (1996) İnterviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing, Thou- sand Oaks, Sage.
16. Lennon, A., Gallois, C., Owen, N., McDer- mott, N. (2005) “Young women as smokers and non-smokers: A Qualitative social iden- tity approach”, Qualitative Health Research, 15, 1345-1359.
17. Mays, N. and Pope, C. (2000) “Qualitative research in health care: Assessing qual- ity in qualitative research”, British Medical Journal, 320 50-2.
18. O’Hegarty, M., Pederson, L.L., Nelson, D.E., Mowery, P., Gable, J.M., Wortley, P. (2006) “Reactions of young adult smokers to warning labels on cigarette packages”, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 30 (6) 467-473.
19. O’Hegarty, M., Pederson, L.L., Yenokyan, G., Nelson, D., Wortley, P. (2007) “Young adults’ perceptions of cigarette warning la¬bels in the United States and Canada”, Pre- venting Chronic Disease, 4 (2) A27.
20. Pechmann, C. and Reibling, E.T. (2006) “Antismoking advertisements for youths: An independent evaluation of health”, American Journal of Public Health, 96 (5) 906-913. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, Health warnings with pictures are a very effective way to reduce smoking: http:// www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/default.htm (accessed 26 November 2007).
21. Robinson, T.N. and Killen, J.D. (1997) “Do cigarette warning labels reduce smoking? Paradoxical effects among adolescents”, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 151 (3) 267-72.
22. Ruiter, R.A.C. and Kok, G. (2005) ”Say- ing is not always doing: Cigarette warning labels are useless”, Letters to the Editor, European Journal of Public Health, 15 (3) 329-330.
23. Silverman, D. (2005) Doing Qualitative Re- search, London, Sage.
24. Smoking and Health National Committee, Smoking and Turkey: http://www.ssuk.org. tr/index.php?option=com_content&task= view&id=17&Itemid=1 (accessed 26 May2007).
25. Thibaut, J.W. and Kelley, H.H. (1956) The Social Psychology of Groups, New York, Wiley.
26. WHO country profiles on tobacco control. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe; 2003. Report No.: EUR/03/5041305.
27. Willemsen, M.C. (2005) “The new EU ciga¬rette health warnings benefit smokers who want to quit the habit: Results from