Graphic images on cigarette packets, including pictures of gangrenous toes, diseased lungs and rotting teeth and gums, introduced this last week could deter young smokers.
A leading researcher on health warnings, Professor Janet Hoek says the although the images may help people try to quit, they will be most effective at stopping people who have just begun to smoke.
"A key purpose of the pictorial warning labels – known as PWLs – is to deter young people from taking up smoking and to display smoking as abnormal behaviour," she said.
Professor Hoek's research shows that the images have a very strong impact on young people.
"We used plain packaging (unbranded cigarette packets), with text and PWLs, in an experiment where respondents identified the pack that would be the most and least acceptable to a young smoker."
"The plain packs with PWLs were many hundreds of times less attractive than text only warnings," she said.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation supports the new pictorial warnings. Executive director Ross Bell said they should help deter new smokers.
"The most damaging drugs in New Zealand are the legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. We should always make sure we have priority focus on these drugs," he said.
Professor Hoek says the images also have a role in prompting smokers to make quit attempts.
"Research reported at last year's Oceania Smokefree conference showed that it takes smokers an average 14 attempts to quit.
This means that interventions promoting a quit attempt, or that support behaviours that are precursors to quitting, are extremely important.
"Our research shows that PWLs would be more effective in prompting these behaviours than continuation of text warnings, even if these were refreshed."
Finally, Professor Hoek notes the importance of PWLs in assisting smokers who have quit.
"Smoking is a powerful addiction, made more so by the attractive imagery on tobacco packaging. Smokers themselves have said that tobacco packaging is a form of advertising. PWLs will also support those smokers who have quit, and who face on-going temptation every time they encounter a tobacco power wall in retail outlets."
Around 5000 kiwis die from smoking-related illnesses every year in New Zealand.
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