Abstract

THRASHER, James F; PEREZ-HERNANDEZ, Rosaura; ARILLO-SANTILLAN, Edna  and  BARRIENTOS-GUTIERREZ, Inti. Impact of cigarette package health warnings with pictures in Mexico: results from a survey of smokers in Guadalajara. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2012, vol.54, n.3, pp.254-263. ISSN 0036-3634.

OBJETIVE: Evaluate the impact of the first pictorial health warning labels (HWLs) on cigarette packs in Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 1 765 adult smokers from Guadalajara, Mexico, 2010. Logistic regression models were estimated to determine the association between recall of having purchased a pack with a pictorial HWL and psychosocial variables indicating their impact. RESULTS: 58% reported having purchased a pack with one of the pictorial HWLs, and these were considered the exposed population. Exposed smokers reported a greater frequency of thinking about smoking-related risks (34 vs. 25% p=0.003), and thinking about quitting smoking (23 vs. 14% p=0.001). Exposure to pictorial HWLs was also associated with a greater acceptability of HWLs as a means of communicating with smokers (93 vs. 87% p<0.001), as was the perception that the government communicates well about tobacco-related health risks (68 vs. 55% p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Pictorial HWLs have made smokers think more about these risks and about quitting smoking. This policy should continue to be exploited as a cost-effective educational intervention.

Keywords : tobacco; health policy; product labeling; warning; mass media.

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