‘Reliable’ Cigarette Pack Warnings Reduce Youth Smoking … Pukyong National University Professors Heo Wonbin and Oh Youngsam Team Publish in International Addiction Journal

Huh Won-bin (left), Professor Oh Young-sam, Department of Social Welfare, Pukyong National University.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] A study has found that how much adolescent smokers believe the warning images and texts on cigarette packs affects the reduction of smoking.

Heo Won-bin and Oh Young-sam, professors specializing in addiction and social welfare at the Department of Social Welfare, National Pukyong National University, recently published a paper titled “Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Cigarette Pack Believability between Social Influencing Factors and Smoking Behavior among Korean Adolescents” in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (IF: 11.555).

The International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, where the paper was published, is an internationally prestigious SSCI-indexed journal that ranked first in the field of substance addiction last year based on the Journal Impact Factor/Journal Citation Indicator.

According to the research team from Pukyong National University, adolescents who truly believe the warning images and texts on cigarette packs are more likely to quit smoking as the fearful emotions are transmitted to cognition.

The research team analyzed sample data from 3,151 Korean adolescent smokers aged 13 to 18 from the 2018 14th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey to obtain the research results.

The study classified factors influencing adolescent smoking into personal factors such as family, friends, and secondhand smoke, and social factors such as tobacco advertising, anti-smoking advertisements, and smoking cessation education, confirming that “believability” plays an important role in the process by which these factors affect smoking.

The analysis showed that the effect of reducing smoking does not occur simply by seeing the warning images and texts on cigarette packs; rather, it first acts on emotions such as fear or fright, then on cognition, with “believability” serving as the key mediator in this process.

For the negative emotions felt from the warning images and texts on cigarette packs to influence the cognition of smokers, the smokers must accept the warning images and texts as “believable.”

Professor Heo Won-bin said, “The study results suggest that even if friends or family who smoke influence adolescents, if they believe the cigarette pack images or texts more strongly, the smoking factors are likely to decrease.”

Professor Oh Young-sam stated, “The study is significant in that it empirically analyzed how cigarette pack images and texts can be utilized from a social welfare perspective and the relationship between addiction and social welfare.”

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