Pictorial cigarette warning labels (PWLs) are thought to increase risk knowledge, but experimental research has not examined PWLs' longer term effects on memory for health risks, or for numeric risks (e.g., percentage risk for developing lung cancer). This trial tests memory for numeric health risks immediately or after a six-week delay for US adult smokers. In addition, the trial tests the effects of different warning label components (e.g., whether the numeric risks are percentage or frequency), participants' level of numeric ability, and the consequences of memory for numeric risks on participant risk perceptions and quit intentions.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
866
numeric risk recall
free recall for numeric risks presented in labels (e.g., \_\_\_\_% of smokers die before age 85), both for smokers and nonsmokers
Time frame: immediately following last exposure or after 6-week delay
numeric risk recognition
Participants answered one multiple choice question about the numeric risk for smokers and nonsmokers (combined in one question) for each of the 8 outcomes that had been paired with the PWLs. For each question, there were four decoy responses.
Time frame: immediately following last exposure or after 6-week delay
smoking risk perceptions
Participants completed several scale items about how much risk they perceived smoking posed to them (e.g., "Compared to the average nonsmoker your age, gender, and race, how would you rate your chances of": 1) "getting a life threatening illness because of smoking," 2) "getting lung cancer," and 3) "dying at a younger age than average" (-3 = Much lower, +3 = Much higher)) They also gave verbal likelihood ratings for each of the 8 outcomes of smoking that had been paired with the labels (e.g., "Thinking of risks that you were shown in the warnings, what is the likelihood of a smoker \[non-smoker\] dying from heart disease?," 0=impossible, 11=certain)
Time frame: immediately following last exposure or after 6-week delay
smoking risk knowledge
Participants listed as many risks of smoking as they could think of.
Time frame: immediately following last exposure or after 6-week delay
quit intentions
Participants intentions to quit smoking, Likelihood of smoking within next 30 days, next year (-3 = very unlikely, 3 = very likely)
Time frame: immediately following last exposure or after 6-week delay
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