TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of E-cigarette warnings, warning themes and inclusion of relative harm statements on young adults’ e-cigarette perceptions and use intentions
AU - Wackowski, Olivia A.
AU - Sontag, Jennah M.
AU - Hammond, David
AU - O’connor, Richard J.
AU - Ohman-Strickland, Pamela A.
AU - Strasser, Andrew A.
AU - Villanti, Andrea C.
AU - Delnevo, Cristine D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant (K01CA189301) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products. Contributions by OAW, ROJ and CDD were also supported in part by R37CA222002 from NCI. ACV was supported by the NCI under Award Number R03CA212694 and the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence P20GM103644 award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
PY - 2019/1/2
Y1 - 2019/1/2
N2 - Although e-cigarettes in the United States are required to carry one nicotine addiction warning, little is known about the impact of other potential e-cigarette warning themes, nor about pairing warnings with messages that communicate e-cigarettes’ reduced-harm potential relative to cigarettes. We randomly assigned 876 young adults (ages 18–29) to view e-cigarette ads in a 3 × 2 plus control online experiment that varied by warning theme (i.e., nicotine addiction; nicotine’s impact on adolescent brain development; presence of harmful chemicals) and warning type—i.e., the presence (“relative harm warning”) or absence (“standard warning”) of a relative harm (RH) statement in the warning label (“e-cigarettes may cause harm to health but are less harmful than cigarettes”). Warning believability, informativeness, understandability and support were high across conditions and there were no significant differences by warning theme on e-cigarette harm perceptions or use intentions nor on nicotine (mis)perceptions. Perceived warning effectiveness for discouraging youth initiation was higher for the “brain” and “chemicals” warnings compared to the addiction warning. Warnings with the included RH statement were perceived as less believable and credible and were less frequently correctly recalled. Research should continue to investigate the impact of different e-cigarette warning themes and formats with priority audiences.
AB - Although e-cigarettes in the United States are required to carry one nicotine addiction warning, little is known about the impact of other potential e-cigarette warning themes, nor about pairing warnings with messages that communicate e-cigarettes’ reduced-harm potential relative to cigarettes. We randomly assigned 876 young adults (ages 18–29) to view e-cigarette ads in a 3 × 2 plus control online experiment that varied by warning theme (i.e., nicotine addiction; nicotine’s impact on adolescent brain development; presence of harmful chemicals) and warning type—i.e., the presence (“relative harm warning”) or absence (“standard warning”) of a relative harm (RH) statement in the warning label (“e-cigarettes may cause harm to health but are less harmful than cigarettes”). Warning believability, informativeness, understandability and support were high across conditions and there were no significant differences by warning theme on e-cigarette harm perceptions or use intentions nor on nicotine (mis)perceptions. Perceived warning effectiveness for discouraging youth initiation was higher for the “brain” and “chemicals” warnings compared to the addiction warning. Warnings with the included RH statement were perceived as less believable and credible and were less frequently correctly recalled. Research should continue to investigate the impact of different e-cigarette warning themes and formats with priority audiences.
KW - E-cigarettes
KW - Health communication
KW - Risk communication
KW - Risk perceptions
KW - Tobacco warnings
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph16020184
DO - 10.3390/ijerph16020184
M3 - Article
C2 - 30634618
AN - SCOPUS:85059891870
VL - 16
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 2
M1 - 184
ER -