A NEW study at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) has found one of the European Union’s (EU) mandated pictorial tobacco warnings – designed to discourage smoking – is perceived by some viewers as attractive, stylish, and even sexy.
The study, ‘Relaxing, cool, sexy and stylish: Misinterpretations of an EU pictorial tobacco warning image’, published in the BMJ medical journal, gathered responses from 607 participants asking them to describe their emotional reactions to a single EU-approved tobacco warning image.
While over half (54 per cent) perceived the image negatively — mentioning themes such as death, stress, or self-harm — 22.1 per cent reported positive emotions such as relaxation, calmness, and peacefulness.
Overall, 28.9 per cent of respondents found the image appealing in some way.
Among these, 40 participants described the image as “stylish,” “cool”, or “classy”, while others suggested it made smoking appear attractive or enjoyable.
Eight respondents characterised the image as “seductive” or “sexy”.
Dr Frank Houghton, lecturer in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at TUS, said that “graphic and text warnings are proven to be effective public health tools, but our findings show that careful image selection is essential”.
“Even though this image only appears periodically in the EU’s rotation, any potential to make smoking look appealing should be taken seriously.”
The research team also included Alwalid Ali, University of Limerick (UL), Ben Houghton, TUS, and Jennifer Moran Stritch, TUS lecturer in the Department of Applied of Sciences.
Participants were primarily students within Ireland’s Technological University sector, and whilst most were non-smokers (73 per cent), positive interpretations occurred across all smoking categories during the study.
Throughout the study, researchers acknowledged certain limitations including the relatively homogeneous or similar sample of people surveyed and the lack of accompanying warning text for participants when the image was viewed.
Further research with more diverse populations was recommended alongside pilot testing of proposed warning images to identify unintended positive associations before they are approved for use.