Exposure and response to current text-only smokeless tobacco health warnings among smokeless tobacco users aged ≥18 years, United States, 2012-2013

Israel T. Agaku*, Tushar Singh, Italia V. Rolle, Olalekan A. Ayo-Yusuf

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: We assessed US adult smokeless tobacco (SLT) users' exposure and response to SLT health warnings, which are currently in text-only format, covering 30% of the two primary surfaces of SLT containers and 20% of advertisements. Methods: Data were from the 2012-2013 National Adult Tobacco Survey. Past 30-day exposure to SLT health warnings among past 30-day SLT users (n = 1626) was a self-report of seeing warnings on SLT packages: "Very often," "Often," or "Sometimes" (versus "Rarely" or "Never"). We measured the association between SLT health warning exposure and perceptions of SLT harmfulness and addictiveness using logistic regression. Results: Of past 30-day SLT users, 77.5% reported exposure to SLT health warnings, with lower prevalence reported among females and users of novel SLT products (snus/dissolvable tobacco). Furthermore, exposure reduced linearly with reducing education and annual household income (p < 0.01). Among exposed past 30-day SLT users, 73.9% reported thinking about the health risks of SLT, while 17.1% reported stopping SLT use on ≥. 1 occasion within the past 30 days. Exposure to SLT warnings was associated with perceived SLT harmfulness (AOR = 2.16; 95% CI = 1.15-4.04), but not with perceived SLT addictiveness. Conclusion: Socioeconomic disparities found in exposure and response to SLT health warnings can be addressed through implementation of large pictorial warnings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)200-206
Number of pages7
JournalPreventive Medicine
Volume87
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2016

Keywords

  • Chewing tobacco
  • Health policy
  • Smokeless tobacco
  • Snuff
  • Snus
  • Tobacco control
  • Warning labels

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