Since 2011, cigarette packets sold in France must bear information on the dangers of tobacco as well as impressive photos to show smokers the health consequences of their addiction. Despite the shocking messages and images printed, young smokers do not want to quit smoking either, according to a study published by the journal Tobacco Control, which is part of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) group. This survey was carried out among a thousand young Britons aged 11 to 16 in 2008 and 2011. It should be remembered that Great Britain also adopted the packages with messages with warning, which may presage that the results of the survey could be the same if it were conducted in France.
Between two-thirds and three-quarters of the young people questioned had never smoked, the rest being divided between occasional smokers and “regular” smokers (around 10%). When asked to describe the photos, less than 10% of them remembered the ones on the back of the package, except for the scariest ones, showing decayed teeth, sick lungs or neck cancer. In addition, less than 1% of young people were able to return them, as long as they were not accompanied by photos.
When asked, however, about the warnings on the front (therefore more visible), nearly half of young people remembered “smoking kills” (47% in 2011 against 58% in 2008). For another commonly used message “smoking seriously harms your health and that of those around you,” the percentage was still 25% in 2011, after reaching 41% in 2008. Researchers conclude that warnings need to be more visible to be effective. really effective. Moreover, they believe that the publication of the same photos since 2008 has certainly blunted their effect. Clearly, smokers no longer see these messages because they are somehow too used to their presence on the packages.
In France, as in most European countries, dissuasive messages cover only 40% of the surface of the package. However, the WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that the texts and photos should cover at least half of the package for the effect to be really dissuasive. Last July, the Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, had mentioned the wish to go even further by imposing neutral packages which would only include health messages following a successful experiment in Australia.