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

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 Nov;7(11):4089-99. doi: 10.3390/ijerph7114089. Epub 2010 Nov 22.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Awareness*
  • Humans
  • Malaysia
  • Nicotiana*
  • Product Labeling*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Smoking / psychology*
  • Smoking Cessation*