Government Health Warnings and the “Boomerang” Effect

Abstract

The experiment shows that the presence of a government health warning on cigarette advertisements can “boomerang,” leading to an increased desire to smoke. 24 housewives saw a series of 25 cigarette advertisements; for 12 subjects the health warning was present and for 12 it was absent. Half the subjects in each group were smokers and half non-smokers. The presence of the warning increased the desire to smoke but the increase seems to be greater for smokers than for non-smokers. The presence of the warning decreases the perceived goodness of the advertisement but does not affect its perceived familiarity.