Shots - Health News Pictures May Speak Louder Than Words When It
Comes To Smoking Researchers have found that graphic anti-
smoking images may be more powerful than words alone in warning
people from different income and racial groups about the dangers
of smoking. The study, from the Legacy Foundation and the
Harvard School of Public Health, finds that bold pictorial
cigarette warning labels approved by the Food and Drug
Administration depicting health consequences of smoking can
impact on smokers' intentions to quit. (Legacy's mission is to
reduce tobacco use in the U.S.) About 3,300 adult smokers from
diverse racial, ethnic and income groups were recruited to take
part in the study. Some received written warnings about the
dangers of smoking while others received highly graphic images
showing possible consequences, including blackened lungs,
cancers, even death. The study appears in the online journal,
PLOS One. Those who saw the images reported being more upset,
scared and motivated to quit than those who s