Nicotine - Effects of Messaging

For more information on stigmatizing people who smoke, please see our page about stigma.

Positive Outcomes

2024: Harnessing hope and bolstering knowledge of how to quit: a qualitative investigation of including efficacy content in tobacco risk communication via daily SMS

• "By contrast, messages that address efficacy beliefs can increase hope, knowledge of cessation supports and motivation, thus supporting adaptive responses to smoking health risks."
• Full text in PDF.
  • Citation: Lillian Brinken, Kate Shiells, Stuart G Ferguson, Stefania Franja, Anna Blackwell, Claire Braboszcz, Olivia M Maynard, Harnessing hope and bolstering knowledge of how to quit: a qualitative investigation of including efficacy content in tobacco risk communication via daily SMS, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2024;, ntae297, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae297
    • Acknowledgement: This study was supported by an ESRC New Investigator‘s Award, awarded to Dr Olivia Maynard (ES/R003424/1) and Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol (MC_UU_00011/7). Stuart Ferguson has provided expert advice to various pharmaceutical companies and has received researcher-initiated project grant funding (through the GRAND initiative) and travel funds from Pfizer. These companies are not involved in the current study. All other project team members report no conflicts of interest.

Unintended Consequences

2024: Harnessing hope and bolstering knowledge of how to quit: a qualitative investigation of including efficacy content in tobacco risk communication via daily SMS

• "Participants in the present study described how GHWLs [graphic health warning labels] were experienced as stigmatising in the context of broader policies leading to denormalisation of smoking. They felt smokingrelated stigma negatively impacted their motivation to quit and confidence to do so. In light of these and other similar findings35,37, we suggest policies intended to promote denormalisation be re-considered."
• Full text in PDF.
  • Citation: Lillian Brinken, Kate Shiells, Stuart G Ferguson, Stefania Franja, Anna Blackwell, Claire Braboszcz, Olivia M Maynard, Harnessing hope and bolstering knowledge of how to quit: a qualitative investigation of including efficacy content in tobacco risk communication via daily SMS, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2024;, ntae297, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae297
    • Acknowledgement: This study was supported by an ESRC New Investigator‘s Award, awarded to Dr Olivia Maynard (ES/R003424/1) and Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol (MC_UU_00011/7). Stuart Ferguson has provided expert advice to various pharmaceutical companies and has received researcher-initiated project grant funding (through the GRAND initiative) and travel funds from Pfizer. These companies are not involved in the current study. All other project team members report no conflicts of interest.

2019: The ironic effects of stigmatizing smoking: combining stereotype threat theory with behavioral pharmacology

• "Messages that elicit negative stereotypes of smokers operated as ‘smoking-promoting messages’ in the context of our controlled laboratory investigation."
• PDF of paper
  • Citation: Cortland, C. I., Shapiro, J. R., Guzman, I. Y., & Ray, L. A. (2019). The ironic effects of stigmatizing smoking: combining stereotype threat theory with behavioral pharmacology. Addiction. doi:10.1111/add.14696
    • Acknowledgement: This research was funded by a Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (20XT-0154) grant awarded to the first and last authors. The authors would like to thank Spencer Bujarski for his assistance with the analyses.