研究：吸菸危害生命 警示無助戒菸

Cigarette pack warnings that remind smokers of the fatal consequences of their habit may actually make them smoke more as a way to cope with the inevitability of death, according to researchers.

A small study by psychologists from the United States, Switzerland and Germany showed that warnings unrelated to death, such as "smoking makes you unattractive" or "smoking brings you and the people around you severe damage," were more effective in changing smokers' attitudes toward their habit.

This was especially the case in people who smoked to boost their self-esteem, such as youth who took up the habit to impress or fit in with their peers and others who thought smoking increased their social value, the researchers said.

"In general, when smokers are faced with death-related anti-smoking messages on cigarette packs, they produce active coping attempts as reflected in their willingness to continue the risky smoking behavior," the study said.

"To succeed with anti-smoking messages on cigarette packs one has to take into account that considering their death may make people smoke."

The study was based on 39 psychology students, aged between 17 and 41, who said they were smokers.

Participants filled in a questionnaire to determine how much their smoking was based on self-esteem, were then shown cigarette packs with different warnings on them, and then after a 15-minute delay, the students were asked more questions about their smoking behavior that included if they intended to quit.

"On the one hand, death-related warnings were not effective and even ironically caused more positive smoking attitudes among smokers who based their self-esteem on smoking," the study said.

"On the other hand, warning messages that were unrelated to death effectively reduced smoking attitudes the more recipients based their self-esteem on smoking."

The researchers said this finding can be explained by the fact that warnings such as "smoking makes you unattractive" may be particularly threatening to people who believe that smoking makes them feel valued by others or boosts their self-image.

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

研究人員日前稱，香菸包裝上提醒吸菸危害生命的警示信息其實會讓菸民吸得更多，因爲死亡在所難免。

來自美國、瑞士和德國的心理學家開展的一項小規模研究表明，一些不觸及死亡字眼的警示語，如“吸菸讓人失去魅力”或“吸菸給你和周圍的人帶來嚴重傷害”等對改變菸民在吸菸問題上的態度更爲有效。

研究人員稱，這在藉助吸菸來提升自尊的人羣中尤爲明顯。例如，有些年輕人吸菸是爲了引人注意，或者使自己更合羣，還有些人認爲吸菸可以提升自身的社會價值。

研究稱：“總體來看，當菸民看到香菸包裝上的觸及死亡的警示信息時，他們反而會採取積極的應對舉動，具體表現爲繼續這種危險行爲。”

“要使香菸包裝的警示信息起作用，必須意識到，讓菸民想到死亡的信息反而會促使他們吸得更兇。”

該研究共對39位年齡在17歲至41歲之間的心理系學生進行了調查，受訪者均自稱爲菸民。

研究人員讓受訪者填寫調查問卷，以確定他們的吸菸行爲在多大程度上是爲了增強自尊。研究人員隨後向他們展示了貼有不同警示的香菸包裝，並在15分鐘後詢問他們更多有關吸菸行爲的問題，包括他們是否打算戒菸。

研究稱：“一方面，危害生命的警示沒什麼效果，而且諷刺的是，它甚至讓那些爲自尊而吸菸的菸民對吸菸的態度更爲積極了。”

“另一方面，不觸及死亡的警示卻能有效地減輕吸菸慾望，因爲更多菸民吸菸是爲了提升自尊。”

研究人員表示，類似“吸菸讓人失去魅力”這樣的警示對那些認爲吸菸讓自己感覺受到重視，或提升自我形象的菸民來說尤其具有威脅性，這可以用來解釋上述研究成果。

該研究在《實驗社會心理學》期刊上發表。

Vocabulary:

fit in with：適應，適合