Smoking, Tobacco
Conditions
Keywords
Smoking, Smoking cessation, Public health, Mental health, Tobacco warning labels
Brief summary
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.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMessages on tobacco packaging labels
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.
Sponsors
Katherine Sawyer
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Intervention model description
The intervention was tobacco warning labels with three conditions: i) positive mental health labels; ii) positive physical health labels; iii) blank labels. Participants were randomly allocated to one label condition using Qualtrics embedded randomisation function, stratified by mental health status, and viewed four labels for at least 10 seconds each.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Self-reported weekly tobacco smokers 2. Aged at least 18 years 3. Could read English
Exclusion criteria
Did not smoke tobacco at least weekly
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Motivation to stop smoking | At baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Quitting Self-Efficacy | Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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 |
| Smoking Beliefs | Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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 |
| Intention to Quit | Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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 |
| Affective Reactions | Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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 |
| Believability | Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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') |
| Attention | Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels | 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 |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed