(ORDO NEWS) — American scientists have found that smokers are less likely to take out a pack of cigarettes in public places if they have unpleasant photos on it. However, this does not affect the habit itself.
The work is published in JAMA Network Open. The results were announced on Thursday by the press service of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD).
Since 2005, 120 countries, in addition to the United States and ten others, have participated in the World Health Organization‘s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). One measure is graphic representations of the effects of smoking on cigarette packs.
The researchers decided to find out how photographs affect the behavior of smokers. To do this, they invited 357 San Diego residents who smoked more than 5 cigarettes a day.
They agreed to buy tobacco from a special shop, for which the scientists made packages with images of throat cancer, a bad leg, and a newborn with a breathing tube.
The participants were divided into three groups: one of the groups received plain packs, the second with photographs, and the third received standard store-bought cigarettes.
The experts followed the volunteers for a year. The results were evaluated twice: after 3 and 12 months of the experiment.
As a result, it turned out that during this time, smokers were 38% less likely to take out packages with images in public places. But despite this, they continued to smoke as well as before the start of the study.
According to the team, this behavior may indirectly contribute to a decrease in the number of smokers: children and adolescents will be much less likely to see packs of cigarettes in the hands of adults and will not perceive smoking as a socially acceptable habit.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.