This study tested whether positive messages on tobacco packaging about the mental health benefits of quitting smoking could help motivate people to stop smoking. It compared three types of labels: ones focusing on mental health benefits, ones focusing on physical health benefits, and blank labels. The experiment involved 631 people who smoke who were randomly shown one of these label types on an online survey platform. Participants' motivation to quit smoking was measured before and after viewing the labels.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
631
The intervention was messages of the benefits of smoking cessation formatted as tobacco packaging labels with three conditions. Participants viewed the messages online. There were four messages in each condition. The intervention was informed by relevant patient and public groups.
University of Bath
Bath, United Kingdom
Motivation to stop smoking
Motivation to stop smoking was measured using the Motivation to Stop Scale (MTSS). The MTSS asks participants "Which of the following best describes you?" with the following ordinal scale: 1) "I don't want to stop smoking"; 2) "I think I should stop smoking but don't really want to"; 3) "I want to stop smoking but haven't thought about when"; 4) "I REALLY want to stop smoking but I don't know when I will"; 5) "I want to stop smoking and hope to soon"; 6) "I REALLY want to stop smoking and intend to in the next 3 months"; 7) "I REALLY want to stop smoking and intend to in the next month".
Time frame: At baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels
Intention to Quit
Participants were asked their intention to quit smoking "Are you planning to quit smoking within the next month?" using a 10-point visual analogue scale, where 1 indicates low intention to quit and 10 indicates higher intention to quit smoking
Time frame: Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels
Quitting Self-Efficacy
To measure participants' self-efficacy to quit smoking, participants responded to the questions "Overall, how confident are you that you can stop smoking within the next month?" on a 5-point scale 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('completely confident') and "For me cutting down on the number of cigarettes that I smoke in the next month would be…." On a scale off 1 ('very difficult') to 5 ('very easy'). The mean score across the two items was calculated, with a higher score indicating higher self-efficacy
Time frame: Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels
Smoking Beliefs
Participants rated their agreement to the statements "smoking helps people relax", "smoking helps to reduce stress", "smoking helps to keep weight down" "smoking increases social comfort" "those who smoke are more popular" and "second hand smoke is not harmful" using a 5-point scale from 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('a lot'). The mean score across the five items was calculated, with a higher score indicating more favourable beliefs towards smoking
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Time frame: Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels
Attention
Participants rated two statements 'these labels are worth remembering' and 'these labels grabbed my attention' on a 5-point scale from 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('a lot'), mean score across the two items was calculated, with a higher score indicating greater attention
Time frame: Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels
Affective Reactions
To measure affective reactions to the health labels we used the Self-Assessment Manakin (SAM, (Bradley \& Lang, 1994)). Participants rated their affective reactions: valence, arousal, and dominance on a 9-point visual analogue scale. Scales for valence range from 1 'unpleasant' to 9 'pleasant', arousal ranged from 1 'calm' to 9 'excited', and dominance ranged from 1 'controlled' to 9 'in control' with 5 as neutral for all items
Time frame: Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels
Believability
Perceptions of believability of the health label were measured using the question "How believable are these health labels?", participants rated this on a 5-point scale from 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('a lot')
Time frame: Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels