Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Cartons Do Not Have Impact on Teens

Graphical warnings on cigarette packs do not encourage teens to quit smoking, a latest study states.

Researchers at the Stirling University studied 2,800 children between the ages 11 and 16. They found that the images "did not deter" them from smoking. But the images did have an impact on non-smokers and experimental smokers.

The study published in the Tobacco Control journal found that one in 10 children smoked and rest of the kids were either non-smokers or children who simply experimented. The researchers collected the data from Youth Tobacco Policy Survey before and after the introduction of the images.

Of the 2,800 children who were questioned, one in 10 was a smoker, while the others were either non-smokers or children who had just experimented with smoking.

According to lead researcher Dr Crawford Moodie, it was disappointing that the images did not seem to deter smokers, but increase in the numbers of non-smokers and experimenters being controlled was a "really positive" result. He further explained that the images on the cigarette cartons were not changed since their introduction in 2003 and 2008. "Other countries regularly change their warnings. I think if we rotated them here they would have more impact," he said.

"Everyone, including teenagers, knows there are health risks associated with smoking. Increasing the size of the warnings, or putting them on the front of the pack, will make no difference. If you want to smoke you will smoke, regardless of the size or position of the warning. If governments want to reduce youth smoking rates they should crack down on shopkeepers who sell cigarettes to children and tackle illicit trade. They could also ban proxy purchasing and make it illegal to buy cigarettes if you are under 18." Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, told BBC.