Cartoon characters as tobacco warning labels

Background: Multiple studies have indicated that the Joe Camel advertising campaign has been successful in marketing tobacco to children and adolescen ts, whereas other studies have reported that current tobacco warning messag es are ineffective. Objective: To determine the importance and believability of familiar and no vel tobacco warning messages with and without cartoons that were modeled af ter Joe Camel. Design: Children and adolescents (N=580) in Chi cage, ill, public schools w ere surveyed to determine the believability and importance of 3 cartoon tob acco warnings modeled after Joe Camel developed with the messages "Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy" or "Smoking Kills" and the same 2 messages without cartoons. Results: Respondents rated all 3 cartoons significantly more believable tha n the plain condition regardless of the message (P<.05). Furthermore, respo ndents rated the "Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy" warning significantly more believable and import ant than the "Smoking Kills" message across all 4 cartoon conditions (walru s, penguin, bear, and no cartoon) (P<.01). Selected demographic groups foun d particular cartoon and warning messages more believable and/or important than others. Conclusions: The finding that cartoon tobacco warnings are more believable than plain warnings suggests that it may be desirable to include cartoons i n future tobacco warning labels. The lower ratings of believability and imp ortance of the "Smoking Kills" warning is a concern because similar warning s have recently been implemented in at least 2 countries (Australia and Can ada) and have been considered for implementation in the United States.