Graphic Health Warnings on Cigarette Packages: The Role of Emotions in Affecting Adolescent Smoking Consideration and Secondhand Smoke Beliefs

Abstract

To date, most studies of graphic health warnings (GHWs) on cigarette packages have focused on adult samples and/or the unique role of evoked fear in influencing smoking beliefs and behaviors. Using a sample of 349 adolescents, classified as either current smokers or nonsmokers, the authors examine the effects of GHWs on a broader array of emotions (i.e., fear, guilt, and disgust). Results show that perceived graphicness of the visual warning positively affects these emotions, and being a smoker increases the positive effect of perceived graphicness. In addition, evoked fear and guilt interact with smoking status to strengthen the positive influence of these emotions on current smokers’ consideration of smoking. Smoking status also moderates the effects of fear and guilt by strengthening adolescent smokers’ negative feelings about secondhand smoke and about other adolescents’ consideration of smoking. Finally, the authors find a direct effect of perceived graphicness of the GHW on the smoking consideration measures that is not fully mediated by the evoked emotions. Implications for designing health warnings and making public health policy are offered.