This is the latest realization that a group of researchers from the University of Illinois have had, after studying various types of reactions to the graphic images on cigarette packs. The presence of these images has been a topic for discussion for smokers and non-smokers alike since they were introduced to the wrappers of cigarette packs in the United States back in 2009.

They normally depict large warnings regarding the health concerns of smoking, images of dying people, diseased organs – all a result of the habit in question – and yet, it would seem that their intended purpose has barely been fulfilled. The study performed at the University of Illinois found a grand variety of reactions and responses to these images, out of which very little were of serious consideration of quitting smoking.

It would appear that the graphic images are more prone to make individuals try to cover them up rather than stop smoking. And that’s saying something when you stop to thing just how disturbing the images truly are. Originally, larger and even more graphic warnings were intended to be displayed on packs somewhere in 2012, but the movement was ceased due to several lawsuits against it.

In some cases, the images appeared to have a completely opposite effect, where individuals spotting them felt like their freedom was being infringed on and ended up encouraging them to smoke even further, rather than reduce their willingness to do it.

The study was performed on 435 undergraduate college students, with ages 18 to 25. Out of them, only 17.5 percent were smokers. However, half of the two representative groups were shown packs of cigarettes that displayed graphic images and warnings and were asked to then fill in a survey that asked them more about their personality and their reaction to the package they had been given.

There seems to have been a nearly unanimous reaction towards it: both smokers and nonsmokers affirmed they felt that the packaging was bothering them and felt like the government was “trying too much” or “meddling in their business”. The results concluded that these attempts made by the FDA to reduce the number of smokers are, as a matter of fact, having the polar opposite result. Because there seems to be a reluctance in individuals to listen when they feel like they’re told what to do – a trait even moreso present in smokers – the initial reaction is to do the opposite of what they are advised.

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