Packaging is an important form of promotion for consumer products. Governments are also learning how to use packaging to inform consumer about the health risk of products. To date, more than 100 countries require large pictorial health warnings on tobacco products, as recommended under Article 11 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Our research has contributed to best practices for design health warnings and has evaluated the impact of health warnings on tobacco products in a wide range of countries around the world. Our studies have also examined the effectiveness of health warnings on other consumer products, including e-cigarettes, cannabis, and alcohol.
Recent papers on health warnings
A systematic review of cannabis health warning research.
Massey ZB, Hammond D, Froeliger B. Preventive medicine reports 2024; 37: doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102573.
Support for pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packages in the United States among adults who currently smoke or quit smoking: Findings from the ITC US Smoking and Vaping Surveys.
Gravely S, Meng G, Hammond D, Driezen P, Thrasher JF, Fong GT, Craig LV, Chung-Hall J, Quah ACK, Ouimet J, Bansal-Travers M, Cummings KM. Tobacco
Do Mandatory Health Warning Labels on Consumer Products Increase Recall of the Health Risks of Cannabis?
Goodman S, Leos-Toro C, Hammond D. Substance Use & Misuse 2022; 57(4): 569-580.
Estimation of prevalence of smoking and smoking-attributable mortality associated with cigarette package graphic health warnings.
Tam J, Jeon J, Thrasher JF, Hammond D, Holford TR, Levy DT, Meza R. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum 2021; 2(9):
Noticing of cannabis health warning labels in Canada and the US.
Goodman S, Hammond D. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention 2021; 41(7/8).
The efficacy of health warnings and package branding on perceptions of cannabis products among youth and young adults.
Leos-Toro C, Fong GT, Hammond D. Drug and Alcohol Review 2021; 4: 637-646.
The impact of health warnings for sugar-sweetened beverages on consumer perceptions of advertising.
Hammond D, Acton R, Goodman S. Public Health Nutrition 2021; 24(14): 4737-4749.
Changes in responses to nicotine vaping product warnings and leaflets in England compared with Canada, the US, and Australia: Findings from the 2016-2018 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys.
Taylor E, East K, McNeill A, Cummings KM, Thrasher JF, Fong GT, Quach ACK, McDermott M, Li G, Borland R, Hammond D, Aleyan S, Hitchman
Use as directed: do standard drink labels on alcohol containers help consumers drink (ir)responsibly? Real-world evidence from a quasi-experimental study in Yukon, Canada.
Schoueri-Mychasiw N, Weerasinghe A, Stockwell T, Vallance K, Hammond D, Greenfield T, McGavock J, Hopin EP. Drug & Alcohol Review 2021; 40(2):247-257.
Efficacy of Canadian health warning statements on caffeinated energy drinks: An experimental study among young Canadians.
Wiggers D, Reid JL, Hammond D. Health Education Research 2020; 35(6):618–626.
Reports on health warnings
Measures to assess the effectiveness of restrictions on tobacco product labeling policies.
IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Tobacco Control, Volume 12: Methods for Evaluating Tobacco Control Policies. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Lyon, France; 2008.
Pre-testing and evaluating warning messages for tobacco products.
Hammond D, Reid JL. University of Waterloo; 2011.
