To dissuade smokers in a better way, the message on cigarette packets should be changed from "Warning: cigarettes cause cancer" to "Warning: Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer", researchers say.
According to them, "gain-framed" messages - those that stressed the benefits to quitting, such as "quitting smoking reduces the risk of death due to tobacco" - were more effective for smokers who thought they could quit when they wanted to.
On the other hand, "loss-framed" messages - the ones that emphasised the negative outcomes from smoking such as "smoking can kill you" - were more effective for smokers who believed quitting would be hard, they found.
Most of the warnings used now on tobacco packages worldwide are "loss-framed" messages which may not be sufficiently convincing to many smokers.
"This study shows us that leveraging both gain- and loss-framed messaging may prompt more smokers to quit," said Darren Mays, a population scientist from the Lombardi Cancer Centre at Georgetown University.
The research that involved 740 participants suggests that a mix of messages might work best to help convince smokers to give up the habit.
"Leveraging policies such as graphic warnings for cigarette packs to help smokers quit is critical to improve public health outcomes," May added.
His research was detailed in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
