Health warnings research

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.

The impact of nutrition information labels on alcohol containers in Canada: an online randomized trial.

Vanderlee LM, White CM, Hammond D, Hobin E. Preventive Medicine 2025; 202:108475.

“Well, if they exist, I ignore them”: A Focus Group Study of Recall and Reactions to Cannabis Health Warnings by Cannabis Consumers in the United States.

Massey ZB, Ibe C, Smith MA, Vogel EA, Thrasher JF, Hammond D. Preventive Medicine Reports 2025; 60: 103306.

Evaluating early implementation of the innovative Canadian policy of cigarette stick warnings among adults in Canada who smoke: An assessment using repeat cross-sectional surveys and daily diaries.

Hackworth E, Sun Y, Petillo S, Xinog L, Vidaña-Pérez D, Yang CH, Kim M, Moodie C, Ferguson S, Hammond D, Niederdeppe J, Thrasher JF. Tobacco

Trends in noticing and responding to, health warning labels on cigarette packages among adults who smoke: Findings from the ITC Four Country Surveys between 2002 and 2022.

Dhungel B, Borland R, Gartner C, East K, Hammond D, Cummings KM, Hyland A, Bansal-Travers M, McNeill A, Gravely S, Fong GT. Nicotine & Tobacco

Evaluating Canada’s innovative policy for health warnings on cigarette sticks: A pre/post assessment among adults who smoke.

Petillo S, Sun Y, Xiong L, Hackworth E, Ferguson SG, Hammond D, Moodie C, Thrasher JF. Preventive Medicine 2025; Jun 18;198:108330. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108330.

Changes in smokers’ responses to novel efficacy messages inside cigarette packages following Canada’s 2024 labeling policy update: A pre-post longitudinal study

Sun Y, Vidana-Perez D, Niederdeppe J, Kim M, Yang CH, Hammond D, Hackworth E, Thrasher JF. Preventive Medicine 2025; Jun 27;198:108347.

Pre-post implementation policy support for warnings on cigarette filters in canada among adults who smoke cigarettes.

Hackworth EE, Petillo S, Sun Y, Vidana D, Moodie C, Niederdeppe J, Hammond D, Thrasher JF. Tobacco Control 2024; Dec 2:tc-2024-058946. doi: 10.1136/tc-2024-058946. Epub ahead

Lived experiences of stigma and altered self-perceptions among young people who are addicted to ENDS: A qualitative study from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Graham-DeMello A, Sanders C, Hosking R, Teddy L, Ball J, Gallopel-Morvan K, van der Eijk Y, Hammond D, Hoek J. Tobacco Control 2024; Dec 2:tc-2024-058946.

Testing alcohol container warning labels among alcohol consumers in the field over a 4-week period: a protocol for a randomized field trial.

Hobin E, Bains A, Poon T, Forbes T, Hammond D, Naimi T, Smith B, Sherk A, Stockwell T, Vanderlee L, Thompson K, Meyer S. Journal

Differential responses to cigarette package labeling alternatives among adults who smoke: Results from a randomized trial.

Thrasher JF, Hackworth EE, Ferguson SG, Xiong L, Kim M, Yang C-H, Hammond D, Sun Y, Hardin JW, Niederdeppe J. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2024;

Health warnings research

Recent papers on health warnings