Other Resources

Warning labels in general

Research on warning labels in general has found that warnings can attract consumers' attention, with the presence of vividness enhancing characteristics in warnings being more likely than the absence of the characteristics to attract consumers' attention. However, familiarity was found to moderate attention; thus, when consumers were familiar with a product, they were less likely to notice the warning. In general, it seemed that warnings could moderately influence behaviour, with consumers being more likely to comply when they were familiar with a product than not.

Argo, J.J. & Main, K.J. (2004). Meta-analyses of the effectiveness of warning labels. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 23 193-208.

Alcohol labels

With regard to alcohol, the US warning label legislation required a series of before and after surveys to be conducted to evaluate whether the legislation was achieving its stated objectives. Public support for warning labels was very high, with, after their introduction, some 9/10ths of the population agreeing that alcoholic beverages should have warning labels about possible health hazards.

Greenfield, T., Graves, K. and Kaskutas, L. (1999). Long-term effects of alcohol warning labels: Findings from a comparison of the United States and Ontario, Canada. Psychology & Marketing, Vol 16(3), 261-282.

Stockwell, T. (February 2006). A review of Research into the Impact of alcohol Warning Labels on Attitudes and Behaviour. British Colombia, Canada: Centre for Addictions Research of BC.

Tobacco labels

A review of the science base to support the development of health warnings for tobacco packages Sambrook Research International. Study commissioned by the European Commission. (May 2009)

A study across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States found that health warnings on cigarette packages were a prominent source of health information, with a significant association between the strength and size of package health warnings and the likelihood of citing packages as a source of health information. Finally, health knowledge was strongly associated with intentions to quit among smokers in all four countries.

Hammond, D., Fong, G.T., McNeill, A., Borland, R. & Cummings, K.M. (2006). Effectiveness of cigarette warning labels in informing smokers about the risks of smoking: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey Tobacco Control 2006;15(Suppl III):iii19–iii25.

Food labels

A systematic review that was undertaken to explore consumer understanding and the use of nutrition labelling found that the reported use of nutrition labels is high but more objective measures suggested that actual use of nutrition labelling during food purchase may be much lower. Consumers who do look at nutrition labels can understand some of the terms used but are confused by other types of information.

Cowburn, G. & Stockley, L. (2005). Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labeling: a systematic review. Public Health Nutrition: 8(1), 21–28.

Awareness of the warning labels was also high, with, after three years of labels, over two-fifths of the population reporting having seen the warning label, amongst whom four-fifths recalled the message for birth defects, just under half the drink driving message, and two-fifths the message regarding operating machinery. However, despite the high rates of support and awareness, no direct impacts of warning labels on consumption or alcohol-related problems were found. This finding of lack of an impact on behaviour contrasts with the experience from tobacco, but this may reflect the nature of the warning labels, where recent research suggests that the introduction of more graphic and larger warnings for cigarettes has impacted on behaviour.

Hammond D, McDonald PW, Fong GT, et al. The impact of cigarette warning labels and smoke-free bylaws on smoking cessation: evidence from former smokers. Can J Public Health 2004;95:201–4.