Academic Publications
- Briant, Thomas. “FDA Health Warning Regulations: Nine New Text Health Warnings to Appear.” National Petroleum News, vol. 103, no. 1, Jan/Feb2011, p. 10. EBSCOhost, db19.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h &AN=59831022&site=ehost-live.
Summary: Thomas Briant speaks of the FDA’s proposed regulations to cigarette packaging. Briant explains the nine written warnings that the FDA was going to require in packaging. He also spoke of the 36 graphic images that were proposed for packaging. The proposed changes were set to be in effect on September 22, 2012. These warning and images were also to be put in tobacco advertisements.
Assessment: Thomas Briant is the executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO). This being said, any information provided by Briant concerning tobacco products will be credible and he is well versed in issues surrounding tobacco. He is also credible in this report because he is directly citing the FDA who is responsible for the regulation of tobacco sales.
Reflection: This source fits into my argument because it highlights the exact points I am arguing for. I intend on using it in my introduction or background section to explain why the argument arose and where it came from. I hope that this source will help readers understand the origin of the argument and the exact points that I am pushing.
- Pagano, Anna, et al. “Addiction Treatment Clients’ Reactions to Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarette Packs.” Journal of Drug Issues, vol. 47, no. 3, July 2017, p. 443. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0022042617699196.
Summary: This source shows a study of graphic warning labels on people with substance use disorders. This study exposed clients in residential treatment to graphic warning labels for 30 days. The interviewees were questioned and most agreed that the labels had greater cognitive and emotional impact causing them to feel more strongly about quitting.
Assessment: This study was conducted with people who are avid smokers and had representation for men and women making it valid for its situation. Although it was a small group, the study is credible because it was conducted by the people who wrote about the results and the results were posted as they were reported. They have all the data available to prove they are not changing the outcome.
Reflection: This study is important to my argument because it shows the effects that it has on smokers and their motivation to quit. I intend on using this to support my argument about the effects of the graphic warning labels on the smokers themselves. I want this to show how the labels can help with cutting down smoking and how many people smoke in the United States.
- Chéron, Emmanuel. “Effect of Graphic Images in Cigarette Health Warning: A Call for Stricter Packaging Regulation in Japan.” Journal of International Consumer Marketing, vol. 27, no. 2, Mar/Apr2015, p. 137. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08961530.2014.979306.
Summary: This source highlights an experiment that compares reactions of Japanese smokers when exposed to a graphic warning label on a cigarette package. The study confirmed that the graphic images were more effective in attracting attention and made the effects much clearer.
The experiment ultimately supports the regulations and also lists a few major countries that already employ the strategy.
Assessment: The results of this study is credible for multiple reasons. One reason is that the author included the data, so the reader can come to their own conclusions instead of just being fed interpretations. Also, at the end of the article, the author describes limitations of the experiment which limits bias and explains the boundaries of applications of the results.
Reflection: This experiment supports my argument that graphic images make the dangers of cigarettes more surreal to the smokers. It shows that the graphic images make the warning sink deeper in the minds of consumers. I intend on using this experiment to support my argument in the effects of graphic images on smokers and hope that it will prove my argument valid with more evidence.
- Briant, Thomas. “Graphic Cigarette Labels Unconstitutional.” National Petroleum News, vol. 104, no. 3, May/Jun2012, p. 11. EBSCOhost, db19.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h &AN=74617408&site=ehost-live.
Summary: In this article, Briant highlights a federal judge’s argument that the FDA’s requirement of the warnings on cigarette packaging and advertisements is a violation of the cigarette companies’ first amendment right. The judge suggests that there are other alternatives to large graphic images. This argument pushed back the graphic image label schedule 15 months past the proposed date by the FDA.
Assessment: As stated above, articles about tobacco written by Thomas Briant regarding tobacco issues can be considered credible because he is the executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets. It can be inferred that given his title, he is well informed on the issues surrounding the trade of tobacco. As with the FDA guidelines, he is only summarizing the ideas of a judge with no opinion in the article.
Reflection: This article is important because it highlights an argument going against the use of graphic warning images on cigarette packaging. I intend to use this as a refutation to my argument to prevent bias in my paper. This article should show readers an opposing view and I can work to prove how the benefits to graphic images on cigarette packaging are more important than the constitutional argument.
- Hoek, Janet, et al. “Lessons from New Zealand’s Introduction of Pictorial Health Warnings on
Tobacco Packaging.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 88, no. 11, Nov.
2010, p. 861. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2471/BLT.10.076695.
Summary: This article discusses Australia and New Zealand implementing these strategies and some issues they encountered. It also speaks of the legal challenges where the tobacco companies claimed that the images would prevent them from using their trademarks, breached their freedom of speech and breeched the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. It also includes the Ministry of Health’s arguments to these points.
Assessment: This article itself is not bias because it uses facts and has arguments for both sides of the situation. Janet Hoek is a professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand where she has written a plethora of articles and studies. Her status paired with the Health Research Council of New Zealand creates a great level of credibility for the article.
Reflection: This article is important to my argument because not only does it give examples of countries that have tried the labels, but it provides issues surrounding the enactment of the idea. I plan to use this as a counter argument to prevent bias and as an example of trials that did not go as planned so that all trials are not biased as well.
Internet Sources
- STUDY: GRAPHIC PICTURES ON CIGARETTE PACKS WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE SMOKING DEATH RATE.” Gumc.georgetown.edu, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3 Nov. 2016, gumc.georgetown.edu/news/study-graphic-pictures-oncigarette-packs-would-significantly-reduce-smoking-death-rate+.
Summary: Researches from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center were the first to estimate the effects of the use of graphic images on the health of adults and infants in the United States. They used a model called SimSmoke and came to estimate that when implementing graphic warning labels, the short-term prevalence of smoking will drop five percent and long term will drop 10 percent. They also estimated to reduce the number of attributable deaths by 652,800 by 2065 and to prevent more than 46,600 cases of low-birth weights, 73,600 cases of preterm birth and 1,000 SIDS deaths.
Assessment: Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center is designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center. They are constantly performing research to try to improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer. Because they are research driven, they are credible because they provide the statistics that they got from their assessment as they got them.
Reflection: This source helps push my argument because it shows how many deaths and birth defects can be avoided by the drop in smoking caused by graphic warning labels. I plan on using this evidence with what I expect from the change if graphic warning images were to be put in place. My intent is that readers will see the evidence as a good thing to be optimistic about and agree that it will be beneficial.
- Grabmeier, Jeff. “How Graphic Photos on Cigarette Packs Help Smokers Consider Quitting.”
News.osu.edu, Ohio Statue University, 21 Dec. 2015,
news.osu.edu/news/2015/12/21/graphic-warnings/+.
Summary: The researchers in this study use graphic warning labels created by the FDA on cigarette packs and gave them to the participants. All packages also had written warnings on them. Some participants got only the written warning and some got the written warning with the image as well. The last group received the simple text, image and additional text detailing how every cigarette entails risk. Smokers who had the image felt worse about smoking and were more inclined to read the warnings on the package.
Assessment: Ohio State University is a well-known school that takes their studies seriously. Findings in a study posted by them hold their own credibility. Jeff Grabmeier is Ohio state’s senior director of research and innovation communications so it can be trusted that he verified the research and posted the results as they came. Grabmeier keeps his opinion out of the article of the findings and just posts what the experiment had to offer.
Reflection: This experiment helps with my argument because it shows that the smokers felt worse about their smoking and were more willing to read about the dangers. I would use this experiment with the effects of the graphic warning labels in my argument to support my claim. I would hope that by using this, the reader would have a better understanding of how the graphic images make the smoker feel.
Original Research
1. Survey
Summary: My survey will contain questions asking the public how they feel about the current warning on cigarette packages. I will ask if they have ever read the warning and ask if the warning deters them. I will then show an image of a cigarette package with a graphic image and ask if that deters them. I will ask current smokers if seeing the image every time they go to smoke would make them more likely to quit.
Assessment: My credibility as a researcher has not yet been established but the posting of the results as they come may make the results more credible. My credibility will come from my writing within the essay where I will show research and addressing both sides of the argument. Lack of bias in the questioning and allowing the people answering the survey to answer honestly without me pressuring them makes the answers come back honest and genuine.
Reflection: I will use this survey in the introduction and background when I speak of how effective current warnings are on cigarette packages. I will also use the portion of my survey where I ask about the graphic images on the section where I am exploring the effects of the images on smokers. I hope that by doing my own survey, readers will see how the average population feels about the images, not just smokers as most studies explore.
