Testing Messages About Comparative Harm of Electronic Cigarettes and Combustible Cigarettes

• In Event: HIGH-DENSITY: Tobacco Warning Label Mechanisms and Effects

Abstract

Health agencies are grappling with challenges of communicating the risks of e-cigarettes to cigarettes. While e-cigarettes are less harmful than combustible cigarettes, they are not harmless. Messages that frame e-cigarettes as a less harmful option could be beneficial if smokers who were otherwise unwilling to quit switched to e-cigarettes completely. However, these messages might have unintended effects, such as increased dual use. We hypothesized that in order to minimize the unintended consequences, messages communicating reduced risk of e-cigarettes should have a strong anti-smoking component. Through an online experiment, we examined smokers’ responses to messages communicating only less risks of e-cigarettes to cigarettes and to messages communicating both less risks of e-cigarettes and negative consequences of smoking. We found both messages fostered correct relative risk perceptions about e-cigarettes and neither tended to have unintended consequences. The two messages differed in message evaluations and perceived effectiveness. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Authors

• Bo Yang, Georgia State University

• Daniel Owusu, Georgia State U

• Lucy Popova, Georgia State University