Impact of the new Malaysian cigarette pack warnings on smokers' awareness of health risks and interest in quitting smoking

Ahmed I Fathelrahman, Maizurah Omar, Rahmat Awang, K Michael Cummings, Ron Borland, Ahmad Shalihin Bin Mohd Samin, Ahmed I Fathelrahman, Maizurah Omar, Rahmat Awang, K Michael Cummings, Ron Borland, Ahmad Shalihin Bin Mohd Samin

Abstract

The objective of this research was to compare the response of adult smokers in Malaysia to newly proposed pictorial cigarette warnings against the current text-only warnings. The study population included 140 adult male smokers who were enrolled in a randomized trial to view either the new pictorial warnings (intervention) or the old text-only warnings (control). Participants completed pre-exposure and post-exposure questionnaires that assessed their awareness of the health risks of smoking, response to the package warnings, and interest in quitting smoking. Exposure to the pictorial warnings resulted in increased awareness of the risks of smoking, stronger behavioral response to the warnings and increased interest in quitting smoking. The new warnings in Malaysia will increase smokers' knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking and have a positive effect on interest in quitting.

Keywords: Malaysia; adult smokers; awareness of health risk; interest in quitting; knowledge score; pictorial cigarette package warning labels; questionnaire; randomized trial; smoking behavior.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The text-only cigarette package warning label used in Malaysia before the implementation of the new labeling policy starting from January 2009.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The nine designs used as mock-ups in the study.

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Source: PubMed

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