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U.S. labels suffering from ‘wear out’ because they are so old
June 17, 2009
Dr. Jim Thrasher
Virginia Slims “purse packs” ad
An Arnold School scientist says the Food and Drug Administration has important changes to consider as the nation’s new tobacco law gives it control over the way cigarettes are packaged and labeled.
Dr. Jim Thrasher, an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, said he has conducted studies that give the FDA solid scientific foundation for possible labeling and packaging content
The law, which President Obama is expected to sign soon, will give the FDA the power to restrict advertising, stop illegal sales of tobacco products, ban misleading health claims such as "light" and "low-tar," regulate health claims, require disclosure of the content of tobacco products and require changes in tobacco products.
The law also allows the FDA to require health warnings that cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs.
Thrasher says that design is similar to the label requirements for many countries in Europe.
Currently, U.S. cigarettes contain four warning labels, which have been unchanged since 1984. However, Thrasher says the effectiveness of the messages is doubtful.
“What we have is a phenomenon called ‘wear out.’ This happens when you expose someone to the same message for so long they don’t even notice it any more,” he said.
Thrasher said the FDA could consider adapting a design where as many as ten rotating text labels occupy up to 30 percent of the front of the package and 50 percent on the back.
If Thrasher had his druthers, the FDA also would consider graphic warning labels used in many countries. These labels, which include photos of rotting teeth and smoke-damaged organs, “are much more evocative that text warnings,” he said.
Thrasher currently is involved in a study supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, testing the impact of pictorial warnings among adult smokers in Columbia.
Another labeling choice that might be considered would require manufacturers to produce only plain packages, consisting only of the brand name and warning labels on the front and back.
“Plain labeling would strip the packages of all iconography and colors,” he said. No chevrons and crests would appear on Marlboro packages. Luckies would have to lose their red bulls’ eyes. That design has not been adopted elsewhere, but it is being encouraged by some anti-smoking activists, Thrasher said.
Recent package redesigns of two popular U.S. cigarette brands point to the importance of labeling in cigarette marketing.
The designs, which have drawn criticism for targeting young women, include:
- a makeover of Philip Morris’ Virginia Slims brand into “purse packs”—small, rectangular cigarette packs that contain “superslim” cigarettes. Available in mauve and teal, they are half the size of regular packs.
- the introduction of Camel No. 9, a new version of R.J. Reynolds’ Camel brand. The cigarettes are packaged in shiny black boxes with hot pink and teal borders.
