Tobacco health warnings are burning out

Explicit images and dire health warnings advertised on tobacco packaging to deter smokers have lost their impact, a Queensland researcher has found.

Aaron Drovandi, a pharmacy lecturer and PhD candidate at James Cook University, has found the messaging, which first featured on packaging 12 years ago, no longer discourage smoking.

"Even though people are still looking at the pictures and messages, it's not affecting their behaviour," he said.

"They think that portraying the negative health consequences of smoking has been done to death."

Mr Drovandi analysed the response of more than 900 people, including both smokers and non-smokers, to shock advertising tactics used on tobacco packaging.

He found younger consumers with less exposure to tobacco packaging were less jaded than older people, but were more likely to ignore health warnings.

Overall, research participants believed health messaging had a greater deterrent value than those without, with more than 80 per cent supporting the warnings.


Tobacco health warnings are burning out

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