Smokers’ and E-Cigarette Users’ Perceptions about E-Cigarette Warning Statements

Olivia A. Wackowski, David Hammond, Richard J. O’Connor, Andrew A. Strasser and Cristine D. Delnevo
Additional contact information
Olivia A. Wackowski: Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers School of Public Health, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
David Hammond: School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Richard J. O’Connor: Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
Andrew A. Strasser: Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Cristine D. Delnevo: Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers School of Public Health, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Cigarette warning labels are important sources of risk information, but warning research for other tobacco products is limited. This study aimed to gauge perceptions about warnings that may be used for e-cigarettes. We conducted six small focus groups in late 2014/early 2015 with adult current e-cigarette users and cigarette-only smokers. Participants rated and discussed their perceptions of six e-cigarette warning statements, and warnings in two existing Vuse and MarkTen e-cigarette ads. Participants were open to e-cigarette warnings and provided the strongest reactions to statements warning that e-liquid/e-vapor or e-cigarettes can be poisonous, contain toxins, or are “not a safe alternative to smoking”. However, many also noted that these statements were exaggerated, potentially misleading, and could scare smokers away from reducing their harm by switching to e-cigarettes. Opinions on the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed nicotine addiction warning and warnings that e-cigarettes had not been approved for smoking cessation or had unknown health effects were mixed. Participants perceived MarkTen’s advertisement warning to be stronger and more noticeable than Vuse’s. Care should be taken in developing e-cigarette warnings given their relative recentness and potential for harm reduction compared to other tobacco products. Additional research, including with varied audiences, would be instructive.

Keywords: e-cigarettes; warnings; risk communication; health communication; risk perceptions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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