Mass media campaigns designed to support new pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets: Evidence of a complementary relationship

Abstract

Background In Australia, introduction of pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets was supported by a televised media campaign highlighting illnesses featured in two of the warning labelsdgangrene and mouth cancer. Methods Two studies examined whether the warnings and the television advertisements complemented one another. Population telephone surveys of two cross-sections of adult smokers measured changes in top-of-mind awareness of smoking-related health effects from before (2005; n=587) to after the pack warnings were introduced (2006; n=583). A second study assessed cognitive and emotional responses and intentions to quit after smokers watched one of the campaign advertisements, com..